Texas Outperforms Nation in Job Growth – Surprise Surprise
The Texas economy gained 230,000 jobs from February 2010 to February 2011, an annual growth rate of 2.3 percent. Over the same period, U.S. nonfarm employment rose 1 percent.
The state’s private sector posted an annual employment growth rate of 2.5 percent compared with 1.5 percent for the U.S. private sector from February 2010 to February 2011.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in February 2011, unchanged from February 2010, while the nation’s rate decreased from 9.7 to 8.9 percent over the same period.
All Texas industries except financial activities and information industries had more jobs in February 2011 than in February 2010.
All Texas metro areas had more jobs in February 2011 than in February 2010. Petroplexes Odessa and Midland ranked first and second, respectively, in job creation followed by Longview and Dallas-Plano-Irving.
The state’s actual unemployment rate in February 2011 was 8.2 percent. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Amarillo, Lubbock, College Station-Bryan and San Angelo.
For more information, read the Real Estate Center’s latest monthly economic review.
Source: Real Estate Center
Read MoreTexas leading nation in economic recovery
Texas is coming out of the Great Recession and leading the United States in the current U-shaped economic recovery, according to the Real Estate Center’s latest monthly review of the Texas economy. After 16 months of job losses, the state’s annual employment growth rate turned positive in May 2010 and posted an annual employment growth rate of 0.2 percent for the period from May 2009 to May 2010. The nation’s rate of job losses has decreased from 5 percent in August 2009 to 0.4 percent in May 2010. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 7.5 percent in May 2009 to 8.3 percent in May 2010, while the U.S. rate rose from 9.4 percent to 9.7 percent during that period. Five Texas industries — education and health services, mining and logging, other services, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services — and the government sector had more jobs in May 2010 than in May 2009. Six other industries had net job losses over the same period. Thirteen Texas metro areas posted positive employment growth rates from May 2009 to May 2010, up from seven for the period from March 2009 to March 2010. College Station-Bryan ranked first in job creation followed by San Angelo, Waco, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. The state’s actual unemployment rate in May 2010 was 8 percent. Amarillo had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Midland, Lubbock, College Station-Bryan and San Angelo.
Source: Real Estate Center
Read MoreDallas area in Top 10 of US Metros Least Touched by Recession
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Overall rank: 5 out of top 40
The sprawling, vibrant, and diverse metro has a major international airport, professional sports teams, and large corporations. It is home to ExxonMobil, J.C. Penney, and TXU Energy. Employment in the Dallas metro peaked in the second quarter of last year. Gross metropolitan product in the second quarter was down just 1.7% from the peak in the third quarter of 2008. Home prices grew 3% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. And the unemployment rate in June was 8.2%, up 3.1 points from a year earlier. (Please see below for the various criteria used by the Brookings Institution to determine the overall ranking.)
Job growth (since peak) rank: 13
Gross Metro Product (since peak) rank: 11
Unemployment change (year over year) rank: 32
Home price change (year over year) rank: 3
A combination of stable home prices and sizable sectors in health care, energy, government, and education kept these metropolitan areas relatively stable.
America’s strongest economies have one thing in common—home prices that never got too hot or too cold.
Home prices in metros such as San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Little Rock, Ark., and Baton Rouge, La., remained steady through boom and bust. Although no metropolitan area entirely avoided the economic downturn, the most resilient metros were protected by a potent mix of recession-resistant jobs.
The upstate New York areas of Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, and Buffalo suffered from declining jobs in manufacturing, but got significant boosts from sizable health-care, education, and government sectors. Construction is booming in Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capital, as firms take advantage of financing for post-Katrina hurricane recovery work and service-related companies expand to meet the needs of a growing population. Omaha and the state of Iowa have relatively strong insurance sectors.
Texas, the last state to enter recession, has been bolstered by its oil and gas industries—which have also helped Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Louisiana. Texas also has many other things going for it, including affordable home prices and relatively low wages, which attract corporations.
BusinessWeek.com used data and analysis from the Brookings Institution’s new MetroMonitor to come up with the nation’s 40 strongest economies. The MetroMonitor, which measures the nation’s health on a quarterly basis, ranks the top 100 metros based on job growth, unemployment, gross metropolitan product, and home prices.
A 22-year unemployment high in Texas
Although the metros in the ranking are strong by relative standards, their unemployment rates in many cases are now peaking because they entered the recession late. Texas, which had 5 metros in our top 10, including No. 1 San Antonio, is a good example.
The unemployment rate in Texas hit 8.2% in September, rising above 8% for the first time in 22 years. But that’s a very low unemployment rate, compared to the national rate of 9.8% or to Nevada’s 13.3% rate.
Texas is unlikely to face a prolonged downturn, said Terry Clower, an economist at the University of North Texas. The state’s affordable cost of living make it attractive to new residents and corporations, the largest of which tend to be based near Houston and Dallas.
“It’s perceived as a low-cost place to do business,” Clower said. “Because housing is affordable, the wage rates reflect that.”
Marisa Di Natale, a director at Moody’s Economy.com, said late arrivals to the recession will generally face mild downturns.
These metros “haven’t had a big erosion in housing wealth, which has kept consumer spending stronger than it would otherwise be,” Di Natale said.
Source: Business Week
Read MoreGreat Info Video on Texas Economy
This is an awesome video on the Texas economy and why Texas is a great place to live and thrive. The video gives you the most important stats on Texas and compares it to other countries, US states, etc. After watching this video it is easy to see why we continue to have a stable and even advancing economy amidst the economic crisis that many parts of the US are in currently.
Read MoreTEXAS EMPLOYMENT STILL RISING
Texas’ economy continues to gain jobs while the nation’s is still losing them. The state’s nonfarm employment rose 2.3 percent from September 2007 to September 2008. Over the same period, U.S. nonfarm employment decreased by 0.4 percent.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Texas rose from 4.3 percent in September 2007 to 5.1 percent in September 2008. The U.S. rate rose from 4.7 percent to 6.1 percent. The state’s mining industry, still helped by higher oil prices, ranked first in job creation, followed by professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, construction and education and health services.
All Texas metros experienced positive employment growth rates for the year ending September 2008. Laredo ranked first in job creation followed by McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Odessa, College Station–Bryan, Longview and El Paso. The state’s actual unemployment rate in September 2008 was 5.2 percent. Petroplexes Midland and Odessa ranked first and second in lowest unemployment rate followed by Amarillo, Lubbock, Abilene and College Station.
Source: Real Estate Center
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