Census: Jobs draw thousands to Texas

Texas gained more residents than any other state as the recession deepened in 2008 and early this year, the Census Bureau said in a report that indicated job seekers migrated to one of the nation’s stronger labor markets.

The state’s population grew by 478,000 in the 12-month period that ended July 1, giving Texas the largest overall increase this decade, according to Census estimates released Wednesday. California, the most populous state, was next with a 381,000 rise, followed by North Carolina at 134,000, and Georgia with 131,000.

The report underscores how the worst recession since the Great Depression has discouraged people from moving to once fast-growing states such as Arizona, Florida and Nevada, which now have the country’s highest foreclosure rates. Texas’ gain has the potential to boost the state’s clout in Congress and its share of federal funding.

“The state remains a magnet, drawing people from other parts of country who are out of work and believe their job prospects are a lot better than the places they came from,” said Bernard Weinstein, former director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas in Denton.

“Let’s be clear: Texas is having a recession like the rest of country, but it’s not as bad,” said Weinstein, now an economist at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “Texas is going to pop up on a lot of radar screens as a place to relocate or expand for businesses.”

The figures are the final estimates to be published before official 2010 population counts are released by the bureau next December, which will determine how more than $400 billion in federal funding is distributed and how House seats are reapportioned. Texas would gain four congressional seats for the 2012 elections, according to an analysis of the estimates by Polidata LLC in Corinth, Vt.

New York and New Jersey would each lose one U.S. House seat. Seven other states would gain one representative apiece, all of them in the South and West.

Texas, the second mostpopulous state with 24.8 million people, added 3.93 million residents between April 2000 and July 2009, with the largest share of migrants in recent years coming from California, Louisiana and Florida, according to the Census Bureau and Pew Research Center in Washington. Its unemployment rate has stayed at least 1 percentage point below the U.S. average during most of the nationwide recession, which began in December 2007.

Texas added more jobs than any other in November and October, on a month-overmonth basis. Almost 70,000 positions were added in areas such as finance, education and health services, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. That compares with a nationwide loss of 122,000 during the two-month period.

Unemployment in Texas fell to 8 percent in November from 8.3 percent, a 22-year high, a month earlier. That was below the national average of 10 percent.

The state’s labor force surged to the largest ever, with 12.1 million people employed or available for work. The increase may result from more out-of-state migrants, stay-athome parents, students and part-timers looking for work, said the Texas Workforce Commission.

Texas didn’t fall into recession until about six months after the U.S., making it one of the last states to do so, according to the Dallas Fed.

California remained the most populous state as of July 1, with 37 million people. New York had 19.5 million, Florida 18.5 million, and Illinois 12.9 million. The nation’s population was 307 million, an increase of 0.86 percent since July 1, 2008, according to the bureau.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 12/24/2009

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