Pratt on Texas listener David sends this today:
Pratt,
Heard KBH in last night’s debate negatively comparing Texas’ employment performance vs. its neighboring states. I updated the spreadsheet I sent earlier. Look at sheet 2 for a comparison of Texas to its neighbors (AR, LA, NM, OK). I used historical data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As you can see, Texas is actually doing well compared to its neighbors. If you look only at percentages, our unemployment rate is worse. However, if you look at the numbers, you can see:
Between Nov 2007 and Nov 2009, Texas gained 90,371 jobs compared to a loss of 117,319 for NM, AR, OK, and LA. If you adjust their numbers because their total work force together is still smaller than Texas’, it’s like saying they lost almost 222,000 jobs.
Between Nov 2008 and Nov 2009, Texas did lose jobs – 61,841. But our neighbors lost 162,350 in the same period, which is 307,140 if you adjust for the size of Texas’ labor force.
Also interesting to look at is the labor force.
From 2007 to 2009, Texas’ labor force increased by over half-a-million people (559,144) while the neighboring states’ labor force increased by 78,652.
From 2008 to 2009, Texas’ labor force increased by 271,497 while the neighbors’ decreased by 32,580.
California’s labor force decreased by 216,000 from Nov 08 to 09. It increased by 148,615 from Nov 07 to 09. California has lost over 1,000,000 jobs since Nov 2007.
David
Exel (xls) spreadsheet is here.
Robert Pratt is host of the top rated Pratt on Texas radio program which can be heard at www.PrattonTexas.com
