Texas is leading the nation in new jobs.
According to a May 21 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state added 37,700 new “nonfarm payroll” jobs in April and 215,500 new jobs since last year. April’s numbers accounted for a 0.3 percent increase in Texas jobs.
Gov. Greg Abbott celebrated the recent news in a press release. “Texas is the No. 1 state in the nation for job creation because Texas moves at the speed of business,” Abbott said in the release. “That is why Texas employers have added more than 2.5 million jobs since I’ve been Governor. That’s also why Texas continues to attract more corporate relocations and business expansions than any other state.”
In April, the states with the next-highest job growth were Ohio, with 22,000 new “nonfarm payroll” jobs; North Carolina, with 18,100 jobs; Arizona, with 14,200 jobs; and Connecticut, with 6,900 jobs. Since last year, the next-highest states were Florida, with 144,100 new jobs, and New York, with 114,300.
Abbott also touted employment numbers from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) on May 16, as Texas now has the largest labor force in state history at more than 15.81 million. The unemployment rate across the DFW metroplex ranged from 3.4 to 3.5 percent, similar to the same time last year, according to the TWC report.
Just days before the state numbers came out, the governor proclaimed Economic Development Week. “Texas is where the future is building — where opportunity is abundant, where free enterprise flourishes, and where families and jobs grow,” Abbott said in a release.
The governor signed three economic bills last week to “boost Texas’ capital market environment and cement Texas as the Best State for Business,” according to a press release.
One of the bills was Senate Bill 29, which codifies the “business judgment rule” – the presumption that corporate leaders are “not held personally liable for decisions made in good faith and with reasonable care, provided the decisions were made in the best interests of the company,” according to the National Law Review.
“Senate Bill 29 provides business decision makers the certainty that sound business judgments made in the best interest of shareholders will not be second-guessed by courts,” Abbott said in the release. “Business decisions are to be made by the elected officers and shareholders, not by unelected judges.”
Texas’ economic growth has outpaced that of the nation in the past, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Last year, Texas’s economy overall ranked fourth-highest in the nation. The DFW area, in particular, has many factors that could potentially cushion its economy against a recession.
“With continued investments in job training for high-demand industries,” Abbott said in a release, “Texas will remain the Best State for Business and the best state for job creation for decades to come.”