Forbes: Texas Is Nation's Leading State For Job Growth

Texas is the nation’s leading state for future job growth, according to Forbes’ annual Best States for Business and Careers rankings.

2.1 million jobs have been created under Governor Rick Perry, who took office in 2000. This “represents 30% of the jobs added in the U.S. since 2000 and more than twice as many as any other state,” Forbes reported.  

The booming growth in the Lone Star State is not likely to slow. Moody’s Analytics collected data which suggests that the state will see an annual job growth rate of 2.7 percent over the next five years, making it home to the fastest job growth in the U.S.  

According to Forbes, Texas also ranked first for economic climate prospects. “There are 118 of the largest companies in the U.S. based in Texas, including heavyweights like AT&T T +1.04%, Exxon Mobil XOM +0.18%and Dell,” Forbes reported. “The $1.5 trillion Texas economy is expected to expand 4.1% annually over the next five years, which is second best in the nation.”

Texas’ low taxes, healthy job market, and pro-business policies are likely behind the state’s rapid expansion. Vance Ginn, an economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told Breitbart Texas, “The Texas model of low taxes, modest government spending, and stable regulations creates an environment where businesses have incentives to move to the state….The [state’s] economy as a whole is blossoming–there are more Fortune 500 companies moving to Texas than anywhere else in the nation.”

Many of Texas’ blossoming businesses are energy-based. 

Edward Friedman, an economist for Moody’s Anayltics, told Forbes, “Texas has done well primarily because it is an energy center. You really can’t get around that. Every major energy and oil company has realized over the last 15 years that the only place to be is Houston.”

Texas’ success in the gas and oil industry has led to companies in other, more diversified industries moving to the state. 

“The state economy is now a powerhouse,” gas and oil economist Karr Ingham previously told Breitbart Texas. “It is more than just an oil and gas economy; it is an industrial economy, a tech economy, a business economy, a manufacturing economy.”

Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate.