The private sector is where its at; less bureaucracy, more opportunity to advance and the ability to create and maintain jobs even in the midst of a recession. It certainly kept Texas on its feet and winning the jobs race by a landslide in the past decade. According to a new study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Lonestar state added 732,000 private sector jobs in the past 10 years, while no other state added more than 100,000. In fact, only 19 states plus the District of Columbia added any jobs at all!
What does Texas know that California and Michigan don’t? Each of those states lost 623,700 and 619,200 jobs respectively.
According to an article in the Business Journals:
Texas avoided the real-estate bust that decimated the economies of several large Sunbelt states, including California and Florida, during the 2008-2010 recession. It consequently was positioned for a faster takeoff once the national economy began improving, allowing it to create 251,700 new jobs in the past year alone.
Even though Texas is thriving, the latest national jobs report put unemployment back up to 9%. While private sector jobs increased by 268,000 last month nationwide, government jobs decreased by 24,000. It’s clear which side is doing something right. Unfortunately, President Obama’s tax policy, over-regulation and the nation’s economic troubles overall are making things more difficult. If the President and Congress are looking for an example to model job creation after, Texas would be a good place to start.