Focus at Four: Report finds Texas is smashing employment records

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - A new report by the Texas Workforce Commission finds Texas is breaking more records when it comes to job growth.

The commission says the civilian labor force in Texas set an all-time high in March.

“That’s the number of people over the age of 16 who are able to work,” said Bryan Daniel, Texas Workforce Commission Chairman. “It also includes unemployed people because they would be available to go into the workforce. The total number of people employed also set a record and then we lead the nation also in in the number of filled jobs that we have in the workforce right now at about 13.8 million.”

March jobs data released by the Texas Workforce Commission and the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows new employment highs.

• Texas reaches a new high for total jobs at 13,839,200 as employers added 28,600 jobs over the month
• Texas reaches a new high for Texans working, including employed and self-employed, at 14,298,256
• Texas reaches a new high with the largest labor force ever in the state’s history at 14,898,100

“The promise of Texas knows no bounds,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “Texas continues to set new records across the board for total jobs, for the number of Texans working, and for the size of our young, skilled, diverse, and growing workforce. Texas is also No. 1 in the country again for job growth, growing jobs at a faster rate than the nation as a whole across every major industry and adding more jobs than all other states over the last 12 months. With more Texans working today than ever before, we are building an even greater Texas of tomorrow.”

In the Bryan/College Station Metropolitan Statistical Area, data for March 2023 reports a 3.2 unemployment rate and the numbers are compared to a 4% unemployment rate in Texas.

The area is made up of Brazos, Robertson and Burleson counties.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen about 4,500 jobs added to the economy in the Bryan/College Station area,” said Daniel. “This is a good trend and one that kind of carries into the future.”

Texas Labor Market & Career Information Data for April will be released next month.

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