Thanks to GOP Governor Greg Abbott’s pro-business economic policies, Texas unemployment has dropped to its lowest point in a decade. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the unemployment rate in July decreased to 4.2 percent, entering Texas’ 14th consecutive month of economic expansion. Under Governor Abbott, job creators and businesses know they can rely on a leader in the governor’s office who will deliver pro-growth policies and continue bolstering the Texas economy.
Texas appeared to have had a very solid economy just before Hurricane Harvey hit, with an unemployment rate in August that matched its pre-recession low of 4.2 percent in July of 2007.
The rate only fell lower in December of 2000, when it stood at 4 percent even. Texas’ rate has been dropping since April of this year as the oil and gas industry recover from the recent bust, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.
The milestone marks a ten-year-long recovery in which Texas’ population has boomed and its energy sector has been revitalized.
The state added 5,500 jobs in August, which is typically a slow month for hiring. Over the year, it’s added nearly 300,000 jobs, putting Texas at a healthy 2.5 percent growth rate.
Statewide, trade, transportation and utilities led the gains, followed by construction, which had been lagging. Manufacturing also added jobs, as did oil and gas, which is now up 13.8 percent over last year.