Texas continues to create jobs faster than the U.S. The state's economy gained 342,800 nonagricultural jobs from December 2018 to December 2019, an annual growth rate of 2.7 percent, higher than the nation's employment growth rate of 1.4 percent (Table 1 and Figure 1). The nongovernment sector added 328,500 jobs, an annual growth rate of 3.1 percent, also more than the nation's employment growth rate of 1.5 percent in the private sector (Table 1).
Texas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December 2019 was 3.5 percent, lower than the 3.7 percent rate in December 2018. The nation's rate decreased from 3.9 to 3.5 percent (Table 1).
Texas Employment Growth Rates by Industry
Table 2 shows Texas industries ranked by employment growth rate from December 2018 to December 2019. All Texas industries except the information industry and mining and logging industry had more jobs in December 2019 than in December 2018. The construction industry ranked first in job creation followed by other services; financial activities; education and health services; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and transportation, warehousing, and utilities. Figures 2 to 13
(shown in full report) show trends in employment growth rates by industry.
Texas Job Shares by Industry and the Government Sector
Table 3 shows Texas industries and the state's government sector ranked by their shares of Texas jobs in December 2019. Of the 12,976,700 nonagricultural jobs in December 2019, the highest percentage of employment by industry was in the government sector followed by trade, professional and business services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Since December 2018, professional and business services; education and health services; leisure and hospitality; financial activities; construction; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; and other services have expanded their shares of Texas employment at the expense of the government sector, trade, manufacturing, mining and logging, and the information industry. Figures 14 to 25
(shown in full report) show trends in shares of total Texas jobs by industry.
Contributions to Texas Employment Growth Rate by Industry
Texas’ statewide employment growth rate of 2.7 percent, or more exactly 2.7133 percent, from December 2018 to December 2019 is the weighted average of employment growth rates for all Texas industries for the period. Weights are shares of jobs by industry. The contribution of each industry to the statewide employment growth rate is equal to the employment growth rate of that industry multiplied by its share of Texas jobs. Table 4 shows Texas industries and the state’s government sector ranked by their contributions to Texas employment growth rates from December 2018 to December 2019. Education and health services ranked first in contribution to job growth followed by professional and business services, construction, leisure and hospitality, financial activities, trade, and other services. Figures 26 to 37
(shown in full report) show trends in contributions of Texas industries to Texas job growth rates.
Employment Growth Rates by Texas Metropolitan Areas
All Texas metro areas except Longview, Victoria, Wichita Falls, and Midland had more jobs in December 2019 than in December 2018 (Table 5). Dallas-Plano-Irving ranked first in job creation followed by Austin-Round Rock, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, San Antonio-New Braunfels, and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land. Figures 38 to 63
(shown in full report) show trends in annual employment growth rates for the state’s metropolitan areas.
Texas Job Shares by Metropolitan Area
Table 6 shows Texas metropolitan areas ranked by their shares of total Texas jobs in December 2019. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land had the largest share of Texas jobs followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Austin-Round Rock, San Antonio-New Braunfels, Fort Worth-Arlington, El Paso, and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. Figures 64 to 89
(shown in full report) show trends in metropolitan shares of total Texas jobs.
Contributions to Texas' Employment Growth Rate by Metropolitan Area
The statewide employment growth rate of 2.7133 percent in Texas from December 2018 to December 2019 is the weighted average of employment growth rates of all Texas metros for the period. Weights are shares of jobs by area. The contribution of each metro to the statewide employment growth rate is equal to the employment growth rate in that area multiplied by its share of Texas jobs. Table 7 shows Texas metros ranked by their contributions to Texas employment growth rates from December 2018 to December 2019. Dallas-Plano-Irving ranked first followed by Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Austin-Round Rock, San Antonio-New Braunfels, Fort Worth-Arlington, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, El Paso, and Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood. Figures 90 to 115
(shown in full report) show trends in contributions of Texas metros to total Texas job growth rates.
Unemployment Rate by Metropolitan Area
The state’s actual unemployment rate in December 2019 was 3.3 percent. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Amarillo, Austin-Round Rock, College Station-Bryan, and Lubbock (Table 8).
Employment Growth Rates by Industry in Largest Texas Metropolitan Areas
Table 9 shows annual growth rates of employment by industry in the six largest Texas metropolitan areas from December 2018 to December 2019. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land is currently experiencing positive employment growth rates in the government sector and in all industries except information. The Dallas-Plano-Irving economy is currently driven by mining and construction, financial activities, professional and business services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and trade, transportation, and utilities. San Antonio-New Braunfels is currently experiencing employment growth in the area's government sector and in all industries. Fort Worth-Arlington's economy is currently driven by financial activities, mining and construction, education and health services, and other services. Austin is currently experiencing positive employment growth rates in the government sector and in all industries. El Paso's economy is currently experiencing positive employment growth rates in the government sector and in all industries except manufacturing and information.
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