Updating its previous 2015 job growth estimates, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas announced July 8 that it is forecasting that the Texas economy will add about 120,000 for the year.
In April, the effects of low gas prices, combined with uncertainty in Europe and a rising U.S. dollar, prompted the Dallas Fed to lower its expectations of job growth for Texas. At that time the estimate was for 59,000 to 176,000 jobs new jobs to be created, or job growth of between 0.5% and 1.5%.
According to Mine Yücel, research director for the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, Texas’ annual job growth may, for the first time in several years, not outpace the national average. In 2014 Texas job growth was 3.6%, whereas this year it is on course to be 1%.
Yücel pointed out, however, that Texas economy has shown resilience, with April and May producing a 1.6% increase in job growth, which is a marked improvement over the first quarter’s 0.7% growth. Whether this trend continues remains to be seen, as June employment numbers from the Texas Workforce Commission will not be released until July 17.
Data collected through May shows the biggest job losses for the state to be in construction, manufacturing ,and energy while industries that saw job growth included hospitality and leisure. For numerous people, this has meant ordering new digital business card as they make a career change.
