Texas added more jobs than any other state over the past year, gaining 195,600 positions and setting new employment records, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday, Sept. 19.
The Lone Star State also led the nation in August job creation with 17,600 new positions, pushing total nonfarm employment to a record 14,347,700.
The increase outpaced national job growth by 0.5 percentage points, according to federal data.
“Texas is America’s jobs leader,” said Governor Abbott. “With the best business climate in the nation and a skilled and growing labor force, Texas is where businesses invest, jobs grow, and families thrive.”
The state’s labor force reached an all-time high of 15,857,300 in August. Total employment, including self-employed workers, hit 15,213,500.
Abbott attributed the growth to the state’s business-friendly policies. “Texas will continue to cut red tape and invest in businesses large and small to spur the economic growth of communities across our great state,” he said.
The governor this week appointed a director for the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office. The new office will identify and eliminate unnecessary state regulations that burden businesses and residents.
Abbott also ceremonially signed legislation expanding career and technical education programs. House Bills 20 and 120 aim to prepare more students for in-demand jobs across Texas.
The employment data came from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Texas Workforce Commission. August marked the latest milestone in Texas’s post-pandemic recovery and population boom.