The Texas Miracle

[erpowers]

I know the Texas Miracle has already been debunked. However, even if it had not been debunked would it have meant anything. When I say debunked I do not mean that one million jobs have not been created. I just mean the one million jobs is not that big of a deal in that many of the jobs were government jobs and the others were low paying jobs.

Perry stated that over a ten year period Texas created a net of one million jobs. That averages out to about 100,000 net jobs per year. Is 100,000 net jobs really that big of a deal, especially in a state the size of Texas? In 2010 Texas had a population of 25+ million people. I could understand if one million net jobs per year had been created for 10 years. That would be a big deal. I am just not that sure that 100,000 net jobs per year is that great of an accomplishment.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

1. Fact: Despite the job gains, Texas' unemployment rate has gone up.

While Texas has created jobs, the state hasn't created enough of them to keep pace with a rising population and labor force. In fact, if we look at the June 2009 starting point that Perry refers to, unemployment got worse in Texas – going from 7.7 percent in June 2009 to 8.4 percent in July 2011. The national rate, meanwhile, improved – dropping from 9.5 percent to 9.1 percent.

The fact is, neither Texas, nor the nation, is adding jobs at a pace fast enough to bring down unemployment to historically normal levels. And Texas' unemployment rate — while still below the national average — is now higher than that of 26 states.

The number of employed and the number of unemployed in Texas both have increased in the past three years, according to BLS data. So, while jobs have grown, the number of unemployed in the state has doubled since January 2008. How can a state add jobs while also adding unemployed workers? It simply adds population.

Texas is the second largest state, and its population — 25.1 million as of the 2010 census — has increased rapidly. It has gone up by 20.6 percent from 2000 to 2010, more than twice the rate of the U.S. overall, according to the Census Bureau.

"It’s a little hard to tell … whether job growth has led to population growth in Texas or vice versa," says Lavine.
http://www.factcheck.org/2011/08/texas-size-recovery/

Also, it's important to keep in mind Texas is tied with Mississippi for the highest percentage of hourly workers paid at or below the minimum wage.

That's pretty much the reality of Texas job creation in a nutshell.

[MrsBrady]

2. it's hard to find work here.

Just understand when Perry's lips are moving, he's trying to blow smoke up your ass.

[dtexdem]

3. I thought I'd seen a Texas miracle: Rick Perry's face showing up on my toast.

But, no, it was just mold. ;-)