Texas Almost Doubles U.S. Job Creation Rate

Texas gained nonagricultural jobs at a rate of 3.3 percent from September 2017 to September 2018, almost doubling the nation’s growth rate of 1.7 percent, according to the Monthly Review of the Texas Economy by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. Nongovernment jobs also almost doubled that of the United States’ rate, with an annual growth rate of 3.9 percent in Texas and two percent in the U.S.

The unemployment rate in Texas in September 2018 was 3.8 percent, down from four percent in September 2017. The unemployment rate was lowest in Midland, with only 2.2 percent unemployment. Amarillo and Odessa tied for second at 2.7 percent, and Austin-Round Rock and College Station-Bryan tied for fourth with 2.9 percent.

Texas mining and logging had the biggest jump in jobs in September, with an almost 16 percent increase. Construction was next at 8.48 percent, and professional and business services had the third highest percent growth at just over five percent, with the largest increase in numbers at 84,300 new jobs. The only major sector to dip was information jobs with a decrease of 5,800 jobs, a decline of almost three percent.

Other than Victoria, all metro areas in Texas had more jobs this September than last September. The top five metros for job creation were Midland, Tyler, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Austin-Round Rock, and Dallas-Plano-Irving. Midland had an 8.9 percent increase, while Tyler and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land each had a 4.3 percent increase. Austin had a 3.8 percent increase, and Dallas-Plano-Irving had a 3.6 percent increase. Austin ranked third for its “contribution” to Texas’ overall employment growth rate. Austin’s strongest-performing industry was mining and construction, with a 9.95 percent growth rate.