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The Texas Workforce Commission says the state’s economy added 56,400 jobs in May – the largest monthly increase of any state in the country. The May total brought the number of jobs Texas added over the past twelve months to more than 383,000, the biggest over-the-year job growth since September 1997.
“I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the numbers this morning,” says Patrick Jankowski, vice president of research at the Greater Houston Partnership. “Back in October, November, December, we thought the economy would start slowing down this time of year, and it’s picking up, and it seems like it’s building pace again. And what’s nice to see is we’re seeing growth in every sector. Mining and logging continues to drive the economy. Strong growth in construction. Strong growth in manufacturing. Even the information sector, which has been a laggard for so many years, is starting to see healthy growth.”
The state’s unemployment rate registered 5.1 percent in May, down a tenth of a percentage point from April. Houston area unemployment came in at 5 percent.
