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Hello i'm Tom Pauken Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission.
Texas continued to show encouraging job growth in January
as the state's unemployment rate fell to seven point three percent.
That's down considerably from eight point one percent a year ago.
This marks the fifth straight month that the states unemployment rate has
decreased.
Texas' unemployment rate is a full point lower than the national jobless
rate
which now stands at eight point three percent.
Texas added an impressive seventy three thousand eight hundred private-sector
jobs in January
and that's over three hundred and thirty two thousand private-sector jobs that
have been added in the state of Texas over the past twelve months.
Total employment in Texas increased by two and a half percent and that compares
to the national growth rate of one and a half percent.
Nine of the eleven major industries in Texas added jobs in January.
Gains in the professional and business services sector lead the way
with the rise of eighteen thousand one hundred jobs and the professional and
business services industry.
The mining and logging industry which includes oil and gas-related employers
grew by two point two percent in January
as we added fifty seven hundred jobs over the past month.
This significant growth that we're witnessing in the energy industry is
thanks in part to areas of Texas such as the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford
Shale
where there's a high demand for employees
who can do the work needed to provide our nation with domestically produced
energy.
In fact, places like Eagle Ford Shale
and the Permian Basin
have helped our mining and logging industry grow at faster rate than any
other major industry in Texas.
We added thirty eight thousand seven hundred jobs over the past year
and that resulted in an annual growth rate of seventeen point six percent.
our Texas manufacturing industry also continues to grow
adding twenty four hundred jobs in January
for a total of twenty five thousand nine hundred jobs that have been added over
the past year.
That's a positive annual growth rate of three point two percent
outpacing the national growth in manufacturing of two percent.
Texas remains the number one place and state in america
to do business
despite our tough challenges to the national economy
but a lot of texans remain out of work through no fault of their own.
For there to be a true and lasting recovery our leaders in Washington must
return their focus to growing the economic pie.
They can start by focusing on tax, regulatory and fiscal policies
designed to encourage private sector job creation
particularly in our hollowed out manufacturing base.
Across the nation
employers are also reporting a shortage of skilled workers.
Local school districts here in Texas should be given the flexibility to
address that high demand
through increased emphasis on technical and vocational education at the
secondary school level.
Rather than push all students to go to a four year university
let's do more to provide opportunities for training in the skilled trades
beginning at the secondary school level and increasing at the post secondary
school level as well.
Such a model of education not only would help to secure the workforce needs
of industry
it would help to provide greater opportunities for many young texans.
Too many of our young high school students are throw aways and dropouts
as they lose hope because they don't have the opportunity for vocational and
technical education.
We can change that here in Texas and lead the way on that front as well. Thank you