AUSTIN – The Texas Workforce Commission on Friday released Texas labor market information for February 2016. The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Economist Dr. Vance Ginn issued the following statement:
“Job creation in Texas keeps percolating along as February marks the 11th straight month of positive nonfarm jobs created, bringing the tally to 64 of the last 65 months,” said Dr. Ginn. “This job growth has contributed to the state’s 4.4 percent unemployment rate that remains at or below the U.S. average for 110 consecutive months. Although the mining and manufacturing sectors have lost a combined 97,700 jobs during those twelve months, there’s been a healthy mix of job growth in other sectors bringing the private sector total to 142,800 jobs added in that period. Slower job creation is somewhat expected this far into an economic expansion, but Texas remains America’s job creation leader with 34 percent of all U.S. jobs created here since December 2007. These data provide further evidence that limiting the size and scope of government allows free markets to provide the best path towards prosperity.”
Vance Ginn, Ph.D. is an Economist in the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.