Mills: Job Creation In Texas ‘A Most Amazing Economic Phenomenon’

Alex Mills

By Alex Mills

Texans love to brag about Texas.  There are many things to brag about, and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) recently released a study that gives Texans even more reasons to pound their chests.

AEI  – a private, non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. – reported that since December 2007, when the Great Recession started, civilian employment in Texas has increased more than 1.32 million jobs (12 percent) while civilian employment in the other 49 states has decreased almost one million jobs.

AEI called the economic growth in Texas “a most amazing economic phenomenon.”

While the civilian workforce in the U.S., excluding Texas, has decreased from 135.26 million in December 2007 to 134.27 million in September, Texas has increased civilian employment from 11 million to 12.32 million during the same period, according to AEI.

“It’s also important to note that while job growth in Texas slowed considerably in 2008 and 2009 due to the recession, the level of civilian employment in Texas never fell below its pre-recessionary, December 2007 level,” AEI said.

Texas has created more than 1.32 million new jobs since the start of the Great Recession, compared to a net deficit of almost one million jobs for the other 49 states combined.

“Also, while Texas was able to actually increase jobs slightly even during the depths of the recession in 2008 and 2009, the U.S. labor market minus Texas experienced a stunning loss of 8.374 million jobs (a percentage drop of 6.2 percent) in the two year period between December 2007 and December 2009,” AEI noted.

“In another job-related milestone for Texas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that annual payroll employment in Texas increased in September by more than 400,000 jobs from a year ago for the second straight month, and established a new all-time state record for job growth over a 12-month period with a 413,700 gain from September 2013.

“Over the last year, Texas has added almost 1,600 new jobs every business day – a hiring rate of almost 200 jobs every hour!” AEI proclaimed.

“Also, Texas’s annual job gain of 413,700 through September represented 15.7% of the country’s 2.635 million increase in nonfarm payroll employment over that period, even though Texas’s population is only 8.4% of the US total.

“In percentage terms, Texas payrolls increased by 3.7% over the last 12 months, almost double the 1.9% growth in US payroll employment.

AEI points out that much of the economic success of Texas in recent years that has fueled job creation in the state is a direct result of the shale oil and gas boom taking place in areas like the Permian Basin in west Texas (1.8 million barrels of oil per day) and the Eagle Ford in south central Texas (1.6 million barrels per day).

Texas is producing more than 36 percent of America’s total crude oil production, and as a separate country would be the world’s 8th largest oil-producer.

AEI also pointed out that Texas has done a great job of attracting businesses like Toyota because of the state’s “employer-friendly combination of low taxes, fair courts, smart regulations and world-class workforce.”

“The Bottom Line,” AEI continued, “the country, the president, and all of us individually owe a huge debt of gratitude to the state of Texas and to the oil and gas industry for helping support the US economy during and after the Great Recession. Without the energy-driven economic stimulus from the fracing revolution, and without the gusher of jobs in the state of Texas, there’s no question that the Great Recession would have been much worse and lasted much longer, and the jobs picture today would be much bleaker.”

AEI even went so far as to thank the state of “Saudi Texas” for playing such a significant role in softening the impact of the Great Recession on the US labor market and economy.

“God Bless Texas,” AEI said.

Alex Mills is President of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.  The opinions expressed are solely of the author.