Texas is the country’s leading state for job growth, having added more than 650,000 jobs in 2022.

Texas added 650,100 non-farm jobs over the year and grew jobs at 5.0%, the largest percentage rate increase in the nation, according to a December report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The national average job growth rate was 3%.

Texas ranked No.1 out of the 42 states that saw increases in employment, having added 28,700 more jobs than California, which ranked No.2, and 210,000 more than Florida, which ranked No.3.

Among major industry groups in Texas, the leisure and hospitality sector had the largest 12-month net increase, adding 155,400 (seasonally adjusted), BLS economist Cody Parkinson told The Dallas Express via email. Even though hospitality showed the most strength, he noted that “the above figures are preliminary and subject to revision.

“Total U.S. payroll employment rose by $4.5 million over the year, an increase of 3% (seasonally adjusted). In Texas, payroll employment rose by $650,100 over the year, an increase of 5% (seasonally adjusted),” Parkinson wrote.

“The Texas economy was on fire in 2022. And the job growth numbers really capture the amazing dynamic happening in our state,” said William Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, in an interview with The Dallas Morning News.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — who regularly promotes the enormous job growth in his state — took to Twitter to share the news.

“BOOM! Texas is the top state for jobs gained in 2022! Texas employers added 650,100 jobs and grew jobs at the fastest rate in the nation,” tweeted Abbott. “More Texans are working than ever before, putting more families on the path to prosperity.”

The message was also shared in a January 24 press release in which Gov. Abbott highlighted the importance of the state’s relaxed regulatory and low-tax environment.

“Texas works when Texans work,” Governor Abbott said in the press release. “Freed from the burden of over-taxation and the stranglehold of over-regulation, businesses continue to invest in Texas and in the best workforce in America.”

In December, Texas surpassed its all-time record of jobs growth for the 14th consecutive month, adding 29,500 nonfarm jobs, according to the BLS. This allowed Texas to reach new highs in 2022, with a reported 13,705,500 total jobs at the end of the year.

Detailed employment data by state and industry can be accessed online at www.bls.gov/sae/data/.

Employment projections for Texas are published by the Texas Workforce Commission and can be found here.