Last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released a new report on employment trends in Texas over the last decade or so. The report affirms the broad-based strength of the Texas job market that we have touted for the last several years.

Key takeaways:

  • Since recession concluded, Texas employment up 3.3 percent (rest of country up only 0.6 percent).
  • Between 2001 and 2010, Texas gained 827,000 jobs-increases in every category except manufacturing, information, and construction. Meanwhile, the U.S. lost 2.8 million jobs.
  • Between 2001 and 2010, Texas added 391,000 jobs (11.9 percent increase) in occupational categories paying above the U.S. median, and 470,000 jobs (7.9 percent increase) in categories paying below the median. Positions in above-median categories made up 36.4 percent of total Texas jobs in 2010, up from 35.5 percent in 2001.
  • Real hourly wages increased slightly between 2001 and 2010, but remain about 93 percent of the national average. Cost of living is lower in Texas, plus Texas workers tend to be younger and less educated and more likely to be foreign born.

– James Quintero