Texas Breaks Another Job Growth Record With More Than 14 Million Workers in March

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference in Austin, Texas, on March 15, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Texas broke another job growth record in March for the 18th consecutive month, according to the latest Texas Workforce Commission report.

“The seasonally adjusted civilian labor force increased by 78,800 to reach a series high of 14,898,100 people, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.0 percent,” the April report said. The civilian labor force includes the number of workers 16 and over who are available to join the workforce.

Texas also added 28,600 nonfarm jobs for a series-high job count of 13.8 million in March.

The state also hit an all-time record of nearly 14.3 million working in Texas, including employed and self-employed.

“Over 14 MILLION Texans are working—the most ever in state history! Our growing, talented workforce is the driving force behind Texas’ historic economic success. Texas remains the envy of America and the #1 destination for job seekers and job creators alike,” Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on Twitter on April 26.

Since March 2022, Texas added 575,000 jobs for an annual job growth rate of 4.3 percent, outpacing every state in the nation.

“The promise of Texas knows no bounds,” Abbott said in a press release. “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.”

The leisure and hospitality industry added 7,400 jobs, followed by construction which increased by 5,800 jobs during the month of March.

“With more Texans working today than ever before, we are building an even greater Texas of Tomorrow,” Abbott said.

Midland had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.6 percent (not seasonally adjusted), followed by Amarillo at 3.1 percent and College Station-Bryan at 3.2 percent.

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area, which sits along the Texas–Mexico border, recorded the highest unemployment rate at 6.4 percent, followed by Beaumont-Port Arthur at 6.3 percent. Both rates were slightly lower than the previous month at 6.8 and 6.5 percent, respectively.

Businesses Moving to Texas

The state’s business-friendly policies, such as no corporate income tax and regulatory structure, are attractive to many companies looking to relocate.

Over the past three years, more than 135 companies, including Tesla, Hewlett Packard, and Oracle, have moved their headquarters to Texas. Dozens have relocated from California.

And more businesses mean more people moving to Texas.

In 2022, the Lone Star State added nearly 500,000 people, bringing the total population to more than 30 million, making it “the second-most-populous state” behind California, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The low cost of living (below the national average) and lack of state income tax are among the reasons many are moving to Texas.

Texas was also recently named the best state for business for the 19th year in a row by Chief Executive magazine.

Florida and Tennessee ranked second and third behind Texas. California and New York came in 49th and 50th, respectively. The rankings are determined by a survey of CEOs.