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Today, the Texas Workforce Commission released Texas labor market information for July 2016. The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Economist Dr. Vance Ginn issued the following statement: “Texas nonfarm employers added 23,600 jobs in July, increasing the pace of hiring over the prior month, showing greater confidence in the state's economy,” said Dr. Ginn. “Texans have been through some ups and downs during the last couple of years as noted by the 39,400 job losses in the mining industry and 33,200 job losses in the manufacturing sector since July 2015. However, given the economic diversity and conservative fiscal policies, more jobs have been added than lost during 68 of the last 70 months. In addition, the state’s 4.6 percent unemployment rate has now been below the 4.9 percent national average for 115 straight months. “It’s true that some states, like California, are creating jobs at a faster rate than in Texas. But that’s for a shorter period that misses key longer-run trends. Since the last national recession started in December 2007, total civilian employment increased in California by 1.2 million while it increased by 1.7 million in Texas, which has roughly only two-thirds of the labor force. This increase in employment in Texas constitutes about one-third of all jobs created nationwide—truly remarkable given the recent headwinds. There are many reasons that job creation ebbs and flows, but there’s a recipe for prolonged economic opportunity for more people: low taxes, no personal income tax, and stable regulation, otherwise known as the Texas model.” |