Texas again tops best state for jobs

Forbes:
The Texas jobs miracle has received a lot of attention since Rick Perry announced his candidacy for president in August. The numbers are impressive. Texas added 1.2 million net jobs since Perry took office as Texas Governor in December 2000, while the U.S. as a whole lost 1.1 million jobs during the same time.
The gains have been fueled by a 40% rise in education and health services jobs the past decade, as well as a 67% jump in mining jobs which includes the thriving oil industry. The jury is still out whether Perry can convince voters that his success in Texas can work on a national scale, but it remains that the Texas jobs story is far from over.
 Texas leads the way when it comes to states that will add the most jobs over the next five years on a percentage basis. Total employment in Texas is forecasted to expand 2.9% annually through 2015 according to research firm Moody’s Analytics. That represents 1.6 million new net jobs for the state over five years. 
In Pictures: The Best States For JobsComplete Coverage: The Best States For Business 
Texas offers a low tax, business friendly climate with a surging population that offers a nearly unlimited supply of young labor. Texas ranks sixth in our look at the Best States for Business and Careers. The state has aggressively courted companies to come to Texas to take advantage of these attributes. “Everyone is singing from the same hymn book at the AustinChamber of Commerce,” says Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi. 
Governor Perry sent letters to roughly 90Washington State companies including Amazon.com,Microsoft and Starbucks last year when Washington was considering a tax increase on the state’s top earners. Perry wrote: 
“As the State of Washington considers a multibillion-dollar tax increase for citizens and businesses … I invite you to consider your future in America’s new land of opportunity: the State of Texas,” Perry wrote. “If Washington doesn’t want your business, Texas does. Texas has no personal income tax and no interest in getting one.” 
The state uses its Texas Enterprise Fund to sweeten economic development deals for companies that are looking to relocate or expand. General Electric, eBay, Electronic Arts, 3M and TD Ameritrade have all announced expansion plans this year with help from the Texas Enterprise Fund. 
The job picture in Texas is not all rosy. The state’s population is growing so quickly that despite the job gains, unemployment is 8.5%, the highest in 24 years. It is double the rate from 2007. Minimum wage jobs represented 9.5% of Texas’ hourly workforce last year which is the highest rate in the country.
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The population growth also includes its status as the leading destination for U-Haul trucks and trailers.  States like New York which have a lower unemployment rate go that way by exporting over a million people to other states some of which landed in Texas.

The story demonstrates Gov. Perry's aggressive approach to soliciting businesses to transfer their operations to Texas.  It puts real pressure on the high tax states.

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