AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Workforce Commission released Texas labor market data for July 2015. The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Fiscal Policy Economist Dr. Vance Ginn issued the following statement:
“Nonfarm job creation continues to move onward and upward despite critics’ claims that the Texas model will fail from low oil prices. There’s no doubt that the roughly 60 percent drop in oil prices since last year has taken a toll on job creation, and the recent drop to near $40 per barrel won’t help the situation, however the report today shows the ongoing strength of the highly diversified Texas economy.
“Last month employers expanded payrolls by 31,400 in most industries for an increase of 260,500 nonfarm jobs at a 2.3 percent pace during the last 12 months. This is the 57th out of 58 months that Texas has now had positive job creation, outpacing the nation since the Great Recession. The unemployment rate remained at an eight-year low of 4.2 percent, extending its streak to 103 consecutive months at or below the national average of 5.3 percent.
“Though Texas faces headwinds from lower oil prices and a weakening global economy, continued pro-growth policies that reduce the footprint of government and let markets work will help give Texans the best chance to prosper far into the future.”
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.