TEXAS JOB GROWTH- A new report finds that job growth in Texas picked up some in the 4th Quarter of 2019. The report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed trade, transportation and health care activity accelerating. Housing also remained strong; Keith Phillips is a senior economist with the Dallas Fed and tells us more.
"Texas job growth has slowed this year due to weakness in the energy sector and some slowing of the manufacturing sector," Phillips explained. "Overall, however, Texas remains strong with historically tight labor markets. Recent data for October and November show continued strength in the housing and service-producing sectors but some further weakening in manufacturing activity."
Phillips says job growth next year in Texas will likely remain close to the 1.7% pace of this year; and unemployment should remain near its historic low. Texas Workforce Commission says the unemployment rate held steady at 3.4 percent in November. That’s the lowest the figure has been since tracking started more than four decades ago. While Manufacturing activity has weakened a bit, the Education and Health Services sectors led job growth, followed by the Trade, Transportation, and the Utilities industry.
In a related story, The president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank says he does not see a need to adjust interest rates next year. In a recent appearance on Bloomberg TV, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan explained why.
"I've already got baked into my outlook; we're going to have weak manufacturing next year, sluggish global growth, pretty sluggish business investment," Kaplan said. But with a strong consumer, there would have to be some material change from that outlook."
Interest rates were cut three times earlier last year. Kaplan told Bloomberg he expects two percent growth for 2020 and for the unemployment rate to remain steady. Kaplan also says the US should expect more trade issues with China.
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