Texas Leads All States For 12-Month Job Gains

TEXAS, October 20 - October 20, 2026 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott celebrated Texas as America’s jobs leader with today’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment release showing Texas led all states with a gain of 154,300 jobs over the last 12 months. With an annual growth rate of 1.1 percent, Texas outpaced the national rate by 0.8 percentage points.

“Texas is America’s jobs leader,” said Governor Abbott. “Businesses big and small invest with confidence in Texas and in our growing and skilled workforce. That means bigger paychecks for more Texans and more opportunities for Texas families to prosper for years to come.”

Labor market data released Friday from the Texas Workforce Commission shows:

• Nonfarm jobs in Texas totaled 14,461,300 in September with a gain of 154,300 jobs over the last 12 months.
• Texans working, including self-employed Texans, totaled 15,246,400.
• The Texas labor force totaled 15,948,400 with a gain of 15,800 people over the month.

Texas has gained more than 2.6 million jobs since January 2015 when Governor Abbott took office, and weekly wages have risen to an all-time high. Today, Texas is the top state for attracting new, job-creating business investment and the top state for small business job creation.