Two bits of news dropped right after I put up the most recent Texas vs. California update.
First, Texas added 34,800 nonfarm jobs in November, and 441,200 more jobs year-over-year, more than any other state. And this happened despite the drop in oil prices.
One reason Texas does so well is that it has the highest level of economic freedom of any state (tied with South Dakota).
Needless to say, those two facts are strongly correlated. In the long run, free states produce jobs and economic activity while less free states produce dependency and stagnation.
(Hat tip: TPPF.)
Tags: economy, jobs, Texas, Texas Public Policy Foundation
Now that the oil boom is ending, do you think Texas will implode?
No, Texas has been making economic gains across all sectors, and the state’s economy as a whole isn’t nearly as dependent on energy as it was during the 1980s oil bust. The oil downturn will slow the Texas boom, but it won’t stop it.