Economic Outlook from Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Jobs

• The U.S. added 227,000 nonfarm jobs in February 2012. The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 8.3 percent for February 2012.  Between February 2011 and February 2012, U.S. total nonfarm employment increased 1.5 percent.
• Texas total nonfarm employment increased by 67,200 jobs during January 2012. Between January 2011 and January 2012, Texas total nonfarm employment increased 2.5 percent.
• The Texas unemployment rate dropped to 7.3 percent for January 2012, down from 7.4 percent in December 2011.
• The Texas unemployment rate has been at or below the national rate for 61 consecutive months.

Consumer Confidence Index

• The U.S. consumer confidence…

OIL INDUSTRY BOOSTS TEXAS JOB GROWTH

 COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Texas’ mining and logging industry ranked first in job creation in the past year, followed by the professional and business services industry, and the leisure and hospitality industry, according to the latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy.

Overall, the state’s economy gained 205,100 nonagricultural jobs from December 2010 to December 2011, an annual growth rate of 2 percent compared with 1.3 percent for the United States. The state’s nongovernment sector added 261,200 jobs, an annual growth rate of 3 percent compared with 1.8 percent for the nation’s private sector.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 8.3 percent to 7.8 percent while…