Texas market news, April 2012
Apr. 30, 2012
Construction employment rises in TexasThe Associated General Contractors of America reported that Texas showed a 1% growth in construction employment, or about 7,500 additional jobs year-over-year. More than 170 of Texas’s metropolitan areas also saw construction employment gains, with jobs in the Dallas area rising 1%. Read more at the Dallas Business Journal.
Apr. 30, 2012
Report: Texas population grows olderA recent report by the Center for Housing Policy showed that the population of people 65 years and older in Texas is projected to increase 59.8% from 2000 to 2030. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 27, 2012
Texas business owners optimistic about prospects, survey saysIn a recent survey by the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, 53% of small business owners in Texas are optimistic about their business prospects. According to the survey, 81% plan to grow their business and 39% plan to hire more employees. Read more at the Houston Business Journal.
Apr. 27, 2012
Texas employment on the riseThe Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Texas employment grew by nearly 3% between September 2010 and September 2011, whereas U.S. employment only grew by 1.6%. Additionally, employment rose for almost all of Texas’s biggest counties. Read more at KCEN-TV.
Apr. 25, 2012
Bryan-College Station economy gets big boostThe Bryan-College Station economic index increased 0.8% in February, the largest jump since May 2010. Created by The Eagle and Commerce National Bank, the index also reported a 22% increase in housing sales, marking the strongest start to a year since 2008. Read more at The Eagle.
Apr. 25, 2012
Texas cities top U.S. population listWith nearly 2.1 million residents, Houston is the second-most populated city in the nation, according to an analysis by the Business Journals' On Numbers. San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin also made the top 20, ranking No. 7, No. 9, and No. 14, respectively. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 24, 2012
Houston region ranks high in industry, low in education, study saysThe Houston region is strong in the nation when it comes to its industry and labor force, but it lags in education, income, wealth, and poverty, the Gulf Coast Workforce Board's 2011 Workforce Report Card says. Read more at the Houston Business Journal.
Apr. 24, 2012
Texas needs thousands of new health information technology workersA new study by the Department of Health Information Management at Texas State University-San Marcos shows that Texas will need an additional 10,000 health information technology workers by 2013 to support the state’s $103.6 billion health care industry. Read more at the San Antonio Business Journal.
Apr. 23, 2012
Travis ranks as 8-healthiest county in TexasThe third annual County Health Rankings released by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation put Travis County at No. 8 among the 221 Texas counties that were ranked. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 23, 2012
Austin-area growth rate ranks 2nd in nationAccording to the latest U.S. Census estimates, the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan area is the nation's second-fastest-growing metro area between April 2010 and July 2011, with a 3.9 percent population increase. Read more at the Austin American-Statesman.
Apr. 20, 2012
Corpus Christi-area jobless rate dips to 6.8% in FebruaryMonthly job gains in seven of 10 employment sectors pushed down the Corpus Christi metro area’s jobless rate by one-half percentage point to 6.8% in February, Texas Workforce Commission figures show. There were about 8,500 more jobs in the metro area in February than during the same time in 2011, according to employment figures. Read more at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Apr. 20, 2012
Texas No. 1 state for hospitality job growthJobs in the leisure and hospitality sectors are growing more than in most areas, and Texas is leading the nation for growth in the industry. Texas added 79,300 leisure and hospitality jobs between January 2008 and January 2012, ranking it No. 1 for total jobs added, according to the Business Journals' On the Numbers analysis. Read more at Houston Business Journal.
Apr. 19, 2012
Texas’s construction industry gains jobs in FebruaryFebruary was a good month for the construction industry in Texas. Among one of 30 states to see construction employment rise between February 2011 and 2012, Texas’s construction sector added 8,100 jobs, according to the Association of General Contractors. Read more at the San Antonio Business Journal.
Apr. 19, 2012
Austin housing market on upswingAustin's housing market is starting to pulse at a healthy, positive rate, according to industry expert Eldon Rude."Very strong" job growth – 26,800 net new jobs were added from January 2011 to January 2012, a 3.5% growth rate – has been a key driver of housing demand. Read more at the Austin American-Statesman.
Apr. 18, 2012
Expectations rising for housing market's spring seasonUnseasonably warm weather may have led to an early kickoff of the spring home-selling season, which economists indicate could be the strongest in years. Existing home sales in February were up 9% from the same time a year ago, as was the Pending Home Sale Index, which reflects signed contracts leading to sales, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Read more at USA Today.
Apr. 18, 2012
Austin unemployment drops to 6.1%The unemployment rate for the Austin area dropped in February to 6.1%, down from 6.5% the month before, according to Workforce Solutions Capital Area. The fastest-growing sectors in the region include leisure and hospitality, education and health services, professional and business services, and financial activities. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 17, 2012
Small-business hiring down slightly in Houston, nationwideSmall-business hiring was down slightly both nationwide and in Houston for the month of March, according to SurePayroll’s most recent Small Business Scorecard. Month-over-month, small-business hiring declined 0.2% nationwide and 0.8% in Houston. Read more at the Houston Business Journal.
Apr. 17, 2012
Texas economy gains jobsThe Texas economy continued its upward climb in February, gaining 27,900 jobs while the unemployment rate dropped slightly, from 7.3% to 7.1%. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas’s positive job growth over the last 22 months points to a steady and sustained expansion of the state’s economy. Read more at The Texas Tribune.
Apr. 16, 2012
Texas is a well-oiled real estate machineAs a result of the strength of the energy industry, each of the state’s major metro areas – Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio – saw minimal declines in the bust and are essentially fully recovered. Each metro area has its own economic strengths that build on energy’s support, whether it is high-tech and government in Austin or tourism and the military in San Antonio. Read more at CNBC.com.
Apr. 16, 2012
Texas ranks No. 3 in retail job growthTexas saw a slim growth of 1,000 jobs in its retail workforce between January 2008 and January 2012, making it one of only five states to add retail jobs during the recession. Read more at the Houston Business Journal.
Apr. 13, 2012
How America’s wimpy recovery has shaped AustinWhile optimism of economic recovery in the Texas capital is higher than most places in America, experts wonder if boomtowns like Austin are merely islands while job growth remains underwater elsewhere in the nation. Read more at Time Magazine.
Apr. 13, 2012
Texas economy gathered strength in JanuaryTexas’s economic activity index inched upward in January, according to the Comerica Bank Economic Activity Index. Experts expect the increases in hiring and residential construction and an active energy sector to continue throughout 2012. Read more at the Dallas Morning News.
Apr. 12, 2012
Texas adds 1,000 financial jobs since 2008Texas gained 1,000 jobs in the financial sector since the beginning of the recession, according to a new On Numbers analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The increase ranked Texas’s financial job gain No. 3 in the nation. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 12, 2012
Texas ranks No. 3 for income growth, led by miningTexas ranked No. 3 for percent change in total state personal income in 2011. According to new data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the 6.54% increase was led by the mining industry, which grew in earnings by 28.32% in 2011. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 11, 2012
Austin 2nd in nation for urban population growthAustin experienced the second-largest urban population growth over the last 10 years among cities with populations of 1 million or more, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The bureau reported that Austin grew 51.1% between 2000 and 2010. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 11, 2012
Texas leads private-sector job growth since recession beganTexas has added 139,800 private-sector jobs – more than any other state – since the recession began in 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Lone Star State was one of only four states that not only recovered jobs lost during the recession but actually added more. Read more at the Houston Business Journal.
Apr. 10, 2012
Texas loses 8,600 jobs from decreased natural gas useThe Texas economy lost $7.7 billion and 8,600 jobs between 2005 and 2011 because of a decreased use of natural gas in power generation, according to a new study out of the University of Houston. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 10, 2012
Texas cities ranked top places to relocateAll four of Texas’s major metro areas landed in the top 25 of U-Haul’s annual report of the “Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities.” With Houston topping the list, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas came in at 5th, 6th, and 15th, respectively. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 9, 2012
Texas a leading market for women business ownersThe San Antonio metropolitan area ranked as the second-highest growth market in the United States for women-owned businesses, according to a new report commissioned by American Express OPEN. Houston followed San Antonio in third place in addition to ranking as the No. 1 city among the top 25 metropolitan areas nationwide for women-owned business revenue growth. Read more at the San Antonio Business Journal.
Apr. 9, 2012
Austin No. 1 for job creation since 2004Revised unemployment data show that Austin leads the nation’s 50-largest metro areas for job growth over the past eight years, with a 21.3% increase since 2004. Houston ranked No. 2 with 15.7% job growth. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 6, 2012
Optimism high as jobless claims fallA decrease in jobless claims across the U.S. has more Americans believing that the economy is getting better, marking the highest level of consumer optimism since 2004, Bloomberg reports. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 6, 2012
Report: Austin an expensive place to liveThe Out of Reach 2012 report recently released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition states that Austin is the most expensive city in Texas for those making minimum wage or close to it. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 5, 2012
Houston, Dallas rank high for Texas’ top financial advisorsAccording to Barron’s magazine, 44 of Texas’s top 75 financial advisors are in Houston and 23 are in Dallas. Experts say this distribution reinforces Houston as a strong business economy. Read more at the Houston Business Journal.
Apr. 5, 2012
Texas ranks No. 3 of best states to make a livingMoneyRates.com ranked Texas, with an adjusted average income of $42,816, the No. 3 place to make a living for the second year in a row. The report compared states based on average income, cost of living, state income tax rate, and the unemployment rate. Read more at the Houston Business Journal.
Apr. 4, 2012
Fewer out of work in Wichita Falls, but labor force downWhile Wichita Falls’s unemployment rate decreased from 7.6% to 6.9% in 2011, its civilian labor force shrank, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The metropolitan area’s civilian labor force dropped 2,100 workers between January 2011 and 2012. Read more at the Times Record News.
Apr. 4, 2012
Military construction boom that buoyed Texas comes to a haltMilitary construction that buffered the Texas economy during the recession is coming to an end after proposed budget cuts and the reduction of U.S. troops worldwide. San Antonio’s economy is set to receive almost $250 million less from military construction projects in fiscal year 2013. Read more at the San Antonio Express-News.
Apr. 3, 2012
Skill gaps keep San Antonio jobs unfulfilledSkill gaps among San Antonio’s workforce are preventing manufacturers from finding qualified workers in multiple job categories. According to a report released by the San Antonio Manufacturers Association, this prevents manufacturers from bidding for new work orders, putting San Antonio’s economy at risk. Read more at the San Antonio Express-News.
Apr. 3, 2012
Texas No. 3 for women-owned business growthTexas has 74.8% more women-owned firms than it did 15 years ago, according to the 2012 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report commissioned by American Express Open. This places Texas third in the U.S. for the number of women-owned business established over the past 15 years. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 2, 2012
All five major Texas cities make 2012 most stressful cities listHouston ranked No. 26 on Sperling’s BestPlaces 2012 list of the most stressful U.S. cities, with Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas placing at 33, 38, 40, and 43, respectively. Read more at the Austin Business Journal.
Apr. 2, 2012
Bankruptcy filings down in TexasAccording to a report released by the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas ranked 4th in the nation for both credit card debt and bankruptcy rate. Behind only Iowa, North Dakota, and Arkansas, the number of bankruptcy filings per capita dropped from 2.36 to 2.06 in 2011. Read more at the Houston Chronicle.
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