Community

Texas’ Can-Do Attitude

Posted by themattesongroup on Sep 11, 2011 in Community, Economy | 0 comments

Newsweek has spotlighted what it refers to as “America’s 20 Can-Do Capitals,” and five Texas cities made the cut.

The magazine looked at the 200 largest U.S. cities to see how they are progressing in the areas of business growth, sustainability, livability, and transportation and infrastructure. Each city was able to receive up to 25 points in each of these four categories, for a total of 100.

Texas fared very well.

Topping the list was El Paso with a score of 71.4. San Antonio ranked fourth with 61.6, Austin tenth with 59.4, Dallas thirteenth with 58.5, and Fort Worth fourteenth with 58.1.

Newsweek provides a breakdown of the scores and a detailed explanation of how the cities were judged in each category.

Source: Newsweek

Texas Jobs Continue to Increase in August 2011

Posted by themattesongroup on Sep 2, 2011 in Community, Economy | 0 comments

Texas jobs created from July 2010 to July 2011 accounted for 20.5 percent of total new nonfarm jobs in the United States, according to the Real Estate Center’s latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy.

During that period, Texas gained 278,100 nonfarm jobs, an annual growth rate of 2.7 percent compared with 1 percent for the nation. The state’s private sector added 292,700 jobs, an annual growth rate of 3.4 percent compared with 1.7 percent for the nation.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment in Texas increased to 8.4 percent in July 2011 from 8.1 in July 2010. Meanwhile, the U.S. rate decreased from 9.5 to 9.1 percent.

All Texas industries except the information industry and the state’s
government sector had more jobs in July than a year earlier. Six Texas metro areas (Brownsville-Harlingen, San Angelo, Sherman-Denison, Wichita Falls, Texarkana and Abilene) had fewer jobs. Lubbock ranked first in job creation, followed by Odessa, Tyler, Corpus Christi and Victoria.

The state’s actual unemployment rate in July 2011 was 8.7 percent. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Amarillo, Odessa, College Station-Bryan and Lubbock.

Source: Real Estate Center

Rockwall is #1 for Jobs According to CNN Money

Posted by themattesongroup on Aug 19, 2011 in Community, Economy, Heath, Rockwall, Rockwall Economic Development | 0 comments

Rockwall Area Towns include: Heath, Rockwall
Job growth (2000-2010): 97.9%

Rockwall County is rockin’ and rollin’ at the top of our list for job creation. It may be the Lone Star State’s smallest county, but it’s one of Texas’s fastest growing, with a population that’s almost doubled in the last decade.

The county borders Lake Ray Hubbard in the northeast corner of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Development there once centered on homes and recreation, but now Rockwall wants to be a place where its wealthy residents live, play — and work.

Like many of the counties on our list, Rockwall is luring businesses and jobs from
nearby big cities with generous incentives and a higher quality of life. The latest development is Harbor Heights, a seven-story 110,000 square foot office tower slated to open next year. Major corporations like L-3 Communications and Pilgrim’s Pride make their home in the Rockwall Technology Park where more companies are expected to join their ranks.

Source: CNN Money

Texas Builds Construction Jobs

Posted by themattesongroup on Jul 28, 2011 in Community, Economy | 0 comments

Some 27 states lost construction jobs from June 2010 to June 2011. Texas was not one of them.

In fact, the state added 26,000 construction jobs during that period — a 4.6 percent increase — according to an analysis of Labor Department data conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Among other states that had increases in their construction workforces were Michigan, Illinois, California and Ohio.

Source: Dallas Business Journal and RECON

Private Sector Boosts Job Growth in Texas

Posted by themattesongroup on Jul 21, 2011 in Community, Economy | 0 comments

Texas, aided by a robust private sector, gained 225,200 nonfarm jobs from June 2010 to June 2011, according to the Real Estate Center’s latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy. That’s an annual growth rate of 2.2 percent compared with 0.9 percent for the United States.
Over the year, the state’s private sector added 251,900 jobs, a growth rate of 3 percent, while the nation’s private sector grew at 1.7 percent.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.2 percent while the nation’s decreased from 9.5 to 9.2 percent.

All Texas industries except the information industry and the state’s government sector had more jobs in June 2011 than in June 2010.

Five Texas metro areas (Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Wichita Falls, San Angelo, Brownsville-Harlingen and Abilene) had fewer jobs in June 2011 than in June 2010. Longview ranked first in job creation followed by Odessa, Dallas-Plano-Irving, Laredo, College Station-Bryan, Midland and Corpus Christi.

The state’s actual unemployment rate in June 2011 was 8.8 percent. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Amarillo, Odessa, San Angelo and College Station-Bryan.
For a different perspective on Texas employment growth, check out USA Today’s recent article featuring Center Chief Economist Dr. Mark Dotzour.

SOURCE: RECON

Rockwall Main Street Update – Bethany Golden – Episode 252

Posted by themattesongroup on Jul 13, 2011 in Community, Economy, Entertainment, Rockwall, Rockwall County, Rockwall Economic Development, Rockwall Events, The Square | 2 comments

Bethany Golden dropped in today to give us all an update as to the progress of the Main Street program for Downtown Rockwall Texas as well as talk about some things to come. Here are some links to websites discussed in the update from Bethany: