Texas added 48,600 jobs in January 2023, marking the Lone Star State’s sixteenth consecutive month of record-setting employment, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) said in a March 10 news statement.
Over a 12-month period, 654,100 jobs were added in Texas. This marked a 5% annual growth rate, outpacing California’s 3.6% growth rate and the nationwide 3% growth rate.
“The continued growth in our Texas labor market serves as a testament to the resilience and innovation of our Texas employers,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Aaron Demerson in the news statement.
The job industries that saw the most growth in January were the leisure and hospitality sector, with 8,300 positions added, followed by professional and business services, which grew by 8,100 jobs. The construction and manufacturing sector also saw robust growth in January, adding 5,900 jobs, according to the TWC, which highlighted that “every major industry had positive over the month employment growth” for the second month in a row.
“Texas has its largest civilian labor force ever at over 14.75 million, and career opportunities for Texans continue to grow,” said TWC Labor Commissioner Alberto Treviño III in the news release. “As Texas adds jobs month after month, TWC is here to support any Texan looking for a new job or an opportunity to advance in their career.”
On top of Texas supporting a solid labor market, the unemployment rate in the Lone Star State has remained below 4% since March 2022. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate in Texas increased by 0.1% to 3.9% percent from a revised rate of 3.8% in December 2022, the TWC said.
Texas’ growth over the last year has surprised Adam Perdue, an economist with the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, who expected to see at least a modicum of slowing.
Purdue said, “The idea that we’re sustaining such high rates of growth is kind of hard to wrap my head around,” per The Dallas Morning News.
Some parts of Texas’ formula for sustaining job growth are its regulatory environment, its low taxes, and its business-friendly attitude. In 2021, Texas benefited from more than 60 corporate relocations, with many companies picking North Texas as the location for their new headquarters, according to a 2022 report from YTexas.
“TWC is here to support employers with workforce training and other initiatives that include internships, apprenticeships, veterans’ assistance, and much more as they continue to grow,” Demerson said.
