We got very good news today about jobs in Texas in The Dallas Morning News :

From the IRS losing emails to the crisis in Iraq, we've lost track of an amazing success story, i.e. the Texas economy.

"Texas employers added more jobs than any other state in May, and if that pace continues, economists say this year could be a record-setting one for the state. Texas saw an increase of 56,400 jobs in May after adding 62,400 in April, the biggest monthly gains in four years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The April figure was revised down from an initial 64,100. The state jobless rate dipped from 5.2 percent in April to 5.1 percent — well below the U.S. rate of 6.3 percent last month. Texas and the nation have seen stronger job growth for the last few months. That trend, combined with other improving statistics, such as consumer confidence and industrial production, show a strengthening economy and a rebound from a hiring slowdown caused by bad weather at the start of the year. “I was pretty shocked at how big the number was again,” Boyd Nash-Stacey, an economist for BBVA Compass bank, said about the job growth. Texas’ recent job gains are three times the average monthly job-creation rate over the last 15 years, he calculated. “Texas is on pace to create the second-most jobs nationally of all time — about 500,000 — which to me is unbelievable that we’ve seen numbers this strong in the recovery,” Nash-Stacey said. “California created about 600,000 jobs in 1978.”"

Oil and gas are obviously big job creators.

My impression is that Texas attracts people, and employers, because of a climate that understands that delicate balance between regulations and over regulating industries.

Add to this that foreign investors also like Texas, as Jim Landers wrote recently:

"It is cheaper to do business in North Texas than in many other parts of the country. There’s no state income tax. The cost of housing is low. Electricity supply is a concern during peak demand days, but energy is otherwise relatively cheap and abundant. Other factors count even more in location strategies. Nancy McLernon, president and CEO of the Organization for International Investment, says the top financial people at foreign companies want access to talent, customers and good infrastructure (airports, highways and such). “Texas has done well,” McLernon said, “and because it’s done well, it’s going to attract even more’’ investment. She calls it “the Davos water cooler effect,” after the Swiss mountain village that hosts an annual conference of top business, government and cultural figures. If one company has a positive experience in North Texas, others will look into the area as well. Kenan Fikri, a research analyst with the Brookings Institution’s metropolitan policy program, sees evidence of this in Monday’s announcements by Toyota and Hisun. “A lot of it probably has to do with momentum,” he said. “Clearly they think Dallas has the talent they need to tap into.”"

I'm not bragging. I'm just saying that Texas is doing something well, especially when it comes to creating the kind of business climate that businessmen like to invest in.

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