http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2011/08/16/how-rick-perry-created-jobs-in-texas-snip-
Total jobs. Texas: Up 0.7 percent since the beginning of 2008. U.S: Down 5.6 percent Since the recession began, Texas has added about 75,000 jobs, one of the few states with any job creation at all. Overall, the U.S. economy has lost about 5.6 million jobs since then. But net job gains in Texas have come entirely from government hiring, which accounts for 115,000 new jobs over the past three years. The private sector in Texas shed about 40,000 jobs during that time.
Federal government jobs. Texas: Up 7 percent. U.S.: Up 4.3 percent. Nationwide, the federal government has been a steady source of job growth over the last three years, and Texas has gotten more than its share, thanks to several big Army bases and a heavy NASA presence. Texas is one of the biggest beneficiaries of Washington spending, which pumps more than $200 billion per year into the state economy, according to the New York Times. That reliance on federal money could backfire if there are cutbacks in military and space spending in coming years, as many analysts expect.
State government jobs. Texas: Up 8.4 percent. U.S.: Down 0.1 percent. While other states were furloughing workers, Austin was hiring. The prominence of the energy sector, which accounts for about 10 percent of the Texas economy, is one reason, since taxes paid by the booming oil and gas industry have generally drifted upward over the last decade. Texas also accepted $6.4 billion in stimulus money from Washington, according to the Washington Post, which helped support employment in education, health care and various parts of government. This trend, too, could reverse soon: The stimulus money is all but spent, and Perry recently signed a state budget that will cut spending by $15 billion, or 8 percent, over the next year, with the biggest cuts coming in education and healthcare. That seems sure to kill some jobs.
Local government jobs. Texas: Up 6.1 percent. U.S.: Down 1.7 percent. Local government jobs in Texas have been protected by many of the same factors that have buoyed state government payrolls, such as strong business tax receipts and federal stimulus money. Local governments will probably start to downsize as stimulus funds dwindle and state spending falls.
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