Texas leads nation in job growth, adding 322,400 workers in last year

The Dallas Morning News reports:

Texas once again is leading the nation in job growth — at least through January — and economists say trends for the rest of the year look promising.

The state added 33,900 jobs in January and 322,400 for the 12 months ending in January, ranking No. 1 for both periods, according to information released Monday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“My expectation is we continue to have strong job growth in Texas,” said Robert A. Dye, chief economist for Dallas-based Comerica Bank. “The Texas economy is running on all cylinders. Expectations of a better year for the U.S. economy [after a choppy first quarter], an improving global economy and higher energy prices [are] a very potent combination for Texas.”

“Although employment growth in many other states decelerated during the past several months, Texas’ job creation accelerated to new heights,” said Jason Frederick, a senior economist for BBVA Compass Bank. Part of the reason for the divergence is that Texas didn’t experience the severity of winter weather in January that other states did.

No word yet from Illinois Governor Pat Quinn who thinks things are better in Illinois than Texas.