Enjoying an annual job growth rate of 6.6 percent, the Texas construction industry is being seen as one of the major reasons for the Lone Star’s strong employment numbers.
According to the most recent Department of Labor statistics, construction jobs in Texas so far this year have seen a 6.6 percent increase, accounting for 48,400 new jobs.
Those numbers are now leading the nation, ahead of much larger California, which has so far in 2019 seen a 4.3 percent increase in construction work, representing 37,100 new jobs.
Only two other states this year have seen additions of more than 10,000 construction jobs: Florida with 21,300 and Arizona at 17,400.
Texas also recorded the most new construction jobs nationally in July, with an increase of 6,300.
A separate report just issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is additionally predicting that more than 330,000 new jobs will have been created in Texas by the end of this year.
In metro El Paso, according to the most recent report issued by the Texas Workforce Commission, the construction, logging, and mining industries combined accounted for 18,300 jobs as of last month—a 14.4 percent increase over July of 2018.
The combined unemployment rate for all industries in El Paso as of last month stood at 4.1 percent, down from 4.5 percent a year ago.
By Garry Boulard
