By BETHANY BLANKLEY
THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR
(The Center Square) — Texas added 654,100 jobs from January 2022 to January 2023, according to new data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, representing a job growth rate of 5%, outpacing the national rate of 3.3%.
The annual BLS process that occurs in March revised previously published data on workforce, employment, unemployment and unemployment rate estimates.
It shows that Texas also broke an all-time record for total jobs in January for the 16th consecutive month. After Texas employers added 48,600 non-farm jobs in January, total jobs reached a new historic high of 13,782,300.
“Texas truly is America’s economic engine as we continue to break our all-time record for total jobs, now for 16 consecutive months,” Gov. Greg Abbott said. “Ongoing and strong jobs growth in Texas, despite a mixed economic outlook at the national level, is a testament to the strength of our state’s diverse economy and our skilled and growing workforce.”
He also said the legislature would be “building the Texas of tomorrow by cutting property taxes and investing in workforce development, infrastructure upgrades and strategic economic development tools.” New legislation and initiatives, he said, would help “ensure Texas remains an unflinching force in the country and in this world.”
For the second consecutive month, every major industry had positive over the month employment growth, the Texas Workforce Commission reported. The Leisure and Hospitality industry led job growth in January with 8,300 new jobs, followed by Professional and Business Services’ 8,100 new jobs and Construction and Manufacturing’s 5,900 new jobs.
Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, however, increased by 0.1% to 3.9% from a revised rate of 3.8% in December 2022. It’s remained below 4% since March 2022 but is still higher than the national average of 3.4%.
The Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area reported the lowest unemployment rate of 2.7% in January, followed by Amarillo’s 3.2% and Austin-Round Rock’s 3.3%. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission had the highest unemployment rate of 7.1%, followed by Beaumont-Port Arthur’s 6.6% and Brownsville-Harlingen’s 6.6%.
