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WSJ Calls Texas 'a Drag,' but Facts Tell Different StoryWSJ Calls Texas 'a Drag,' but Facts Tell Different StoryLuis TorresTorres
2016-10-26T05:00:00ZEmployment
Economy

​​​An Oct. 12 headline​ in The Wall Street Journal made me chuckle. For a serious newspaper, the WSJ headline was almost comical. It read: "Texas, once a star, becomes a drag on the U.S. economy."

The subhead adds, "Since the collapse in oil prices, jobs are lost and growth stagnant; leaving Houston for Atlanta."

The fall in oil-related jobs is undeniable, but the Texas economy continues to grow. If you look at the most current data for the state when this article was published, it’s obvious the writers didn’t see the same numbers I did.

The writers should have recognized the distinction between Houston and Texas, as Houston has felt the pain from the oil bust with employment growth probably being negative in 2016 or flat with zero growth.

Second-quarter Texas employment growth was higher than the U.S. ​In fact, the numbers show Texas moving on with the worst of the oil bust in its rear-view mirror.

If this is a drag, there are a lot of states that would love to be one.

When the Dallas Fed incorporated September’s employment growth of 2.1 percent with revised leading index data, they were forecasting that Texas employment will grow 1.2 percent in 2016 (December/December), unchanged from their August forecast.

The forecast suggests that 142,300 jobs will be added in the state this year and that employment in December 2016 will be 12 million.

The recent momentum in jobs and the slight gains in the Texas leading index suggest Texas will continue to grow at a pace of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter, based on estimates from the Dallas Fed.

Overall, broad indicators of the Texas economy continue to point toward moderate growth, while Texas employment is growing faster than U.S. employment.

With the stabilization of the energy sector in the second and third quarters and continued growth in the service sectors, such as health care and leisure and hospitality, jobs in Texas are likely to continue to increase at a moderate pace in the months ahead.

Texas will continue contributing to the U.S. economy and not be an anchor dragging growth down.


2016-10-26T05:00:00Zhttps://www.recenter.tamu.edu/info/blog/?Item=56

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