Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that Texas employers added 154,300 nonfarm jobs over the last year, outpacing the national job growth rate.
September data from the Texas Workforce Commission showed that nonfarm employment in the state totaled 14,461,300 jobs, a gain of 154,300 jobs over the last 12 months for an annual growth rate of 1.1%.
The data also showed that in September, Texas had 14,461,300 nonfarm jobs, with 15,246,400 Texans working, including self-employed workers. The state’s labor force totaled 15,948,400 people, an increase of 15,800 from August.
The manufacturing sector saw the largest increase in jobs in September, adding 4,700, while the government sector experienced the largest decline, losing 6,100 jobs. The private sector added 160,400 jobs over the last 12 months.
“The addition of more than 154,000 jobs over the year reflects balanced growth across Texas industries,” said TWC Chairman Joe Esparza. “Texas continues to outpace the nation because of innovative programs like Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grants, which are equipping students with skills that help businesses compete today and plan for tomorrow.”
The national annual job growth rate was 0.8%, meaning Texas’ 1.1% growth rate outpaced the nation by 0.3 percentage points.
Abbott touted the state’s job growth in a press release, saying Texas has gained more than 2.6 million jobs and that average weekly wages rose to an all-time high in the first quarter of 2026.
“Texas is where opportunity knows no bounds,” Abbott said. “With the best business climate and strongest workforce in America, Texas grows jobs faster than the nation as a whole and wages have risen to an all-time high. Texas truly is the best place to live, work, build a business, and raise a family.”
In addition to the entire state adding more jobs, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area has about 4.36 million nonfarm jobs in August, which according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is up by 1% for the previous year.
