The expansion of a local plant will eventually result in a handful of new Houston manufacturing jobs. Check out http://houston.jobing.com/cat/manufacturing-and-production for other available jobs.

A&A Machine & Fabrication recently began building an expansion of the company's existing manufacturing facility in La Marque, Texas, located about 40 miles from Houston. That expansion will eventually allow the company to take on more business and hire more employees.

The new expansion, which the company has been planning for several years, will cost about $1.3 million and will measure about 10,000 square feet. It will allow the company to increase its capacity and take on new business.

A&A currently employs about 83 workers at its existing manufacturing facility. The expanded facility's increased capacity will eventually allow the company to hire more workers.

"We anticipate adding six to seven new welders and supervisors and potentially more as the word of our capacity increase gets out," C. Alan Hutchins, president and CEO of A&A Machine, told The Galveston County Daily News, adding that some layoffs have been made in the meantime.

"In a fluctuating economy there are many ups and downs in business," he continued. "A&A is expanding for the future, but in the short term had to lay-off four full time employees."

Once complete, the expanded facility will house $200,000 worth of new equipment, including welding machines, metal rollers and manipulators, and 10-ton cranes. The La Marque Economic Development Corporation gave A&A Machine a $100,000 grant toward that equipment.

"The building will be used to build large pressure vessels, pipe systems and process skids for the petrochemical and plastics industry," Hutchins said. "That means we get to work on bigger projects than we can now."

More companies are planning to create jobs in Texas next year.

A recent report from Robert Half International found that employers throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas are planning to add workers during Q1 2011. About 17 percent of employers in those states are planning to hire professional-level employees, while only 4 percent of managers are planning to make layoffs.

Of the executives surveyed for the report, 10 percent plan to hire more workers for professional jobs, while only 5 percent plan to reduce their workforces in that field. The best hiring prospects will be in the legal field, where 31 percent of employers are planning to hire at the beginning of next year.

The high number of businesses planning to hire can be attributed to more positive attitudes about the economy. The report found that 88 percent of respondents have confidence in their company's growth prospects, with more than half saying they are having problems finding skilled workers to fill open jobs.

Texas's economy has remained one of the bright spots throughout the nation during the economic recession. Many cities have been able to hold their own and continue creating jobs during the downturn.

During October, the unemployment rate in Texas remained at 8.1 percent for the second consecutive month in a row, which is well below the national average at the time of 9.6 percent.

The state had a total non-farm employment of 10,401,200 workers during October, which is up from 10,353,300 workers during September and a 1.7 percent increase from last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The situation for those seeking City of Houston jobs has been just as promising. The area employed 2,525,800 workers during October, which is up from 2,516,300 workers during September and a .2 percent growth from last year.

The number of jobs in Dallas TX (Click here) also increased, from 2,017,000 workers during September to 2,027,100 workers during October, making for a growth rate of .8 percent.

The number of jobs San Antonio has to offer also continues to increase. The area employed 837,700 workers during October, which is up from 835,000 workers during September and a .7 percent increase from last year.