Six Signs the Texas Economy is Strong and Getting Stronger

1. Texas jobs came back; the national economy’s – not yet. By the end of 2011, Texas had replaced every job lost in the recent recession, while the U.S. as a whole has only replaced 44 percent of pre-recession jobs.
2. Texas homes are selling. Sales of existing single-family homes have increased 12 percent since last year.
3. State revenues are getting oilier and gassier. Yeah, that’s right, we said oilier and gassier. In the first ten months of this fiscal year, tax collections from oil and natural gas production have increased nearly 50 percent.
4. “New Texans” is a growth industry. With more and more people coming here drawn by economic opportunities and our wonderful quality of life, the Lone Star State accounted for 19 percent of the nation’s population growth in the past year.
5. We’re a very confident lot.  Our consumers, that is. Consumer confidence in the Texas region is 90.2 and has increased 20 percent in the past year. Nationwide, consumer confidence is just 62.0.
6. That sound you hear is cash registers ringing. Okay, maybe they don’t actually ring anymore in this day and age, but you’ll get our point when we tell you that June 2012 state sales tax receipts were 15.2 percent higher than June 2011.