Texas Leads Nation in Jobs Gained over Past Year
Governor Abbott announced Texas as having the largest 12-month job gain in the nation based on September employment data. The state also set new records for the number of Texans working, the size of the Texas labor force, and total Texas jobs.
September labor market data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Texas Workforce Commission shows:
- Texas reached a new high with the largest labor force ever in the state’s history at 15,879,000.
- Texas reached a new high for Texans working, including self-employed, at 15,222,900.
- Texas reached a new high for nonfarm jobs at 14,343,800 after adding 4,600 positions over the month.
- Texas gained 168,000 jobs from September 2024 to September 2025, leading all states and outpacing the national annual job growth rate by 0.4 percentage points.
- The Texas unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, below the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.4%.
The Governor’s full press release can be found here. The press release from the Texas Workforce Commission can be found here. More employment data can be found at Texaslmi.com.
Comptroller Sending $1.2 Billion in Local Sales Tax Allocations
Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced that he is sending cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts $1.2 billion in local sales tax allocations for December, 7.5 percent more than in December 2024.
| Recipient | Dec. 2025 Allocations | Change from Dec. 2024 | Year-to-Date Change |
| Cities | $770.9M | ↑7.0% | ↑4.5% |
| Transit Systems | $262.6M | ↑7.0% | ↑4.4% |
| Counties | $75.7M | ↑5.8% | ↑5.6% |
| Special Purpose Districts | $128.1M | ↑13.1% | ↑9.9% |
| Total | $1.2B | ↑7.5% | ↑5.1% |
More information can be found on the Comptroller’s Monthly Sales Tax Allocation Comparison Summary Reports.
The Comptroller’s full press release can be found here.
State Revenue Trends
In June, the Baker Institute released a brief on Texas’s revenue trends. Revenue grew at an annual rate of 6.1% from 2003 to 2022. However, the growth dropped to 2% in 2023 and declined by an additional 4% in 2024. Through September of fiscal year 2025, revenues have grown by 2.56%. Forecasts from the comptroller project minimal growth through 2027.
The largest source of income has historically been transfer payments from the federal government. Payments increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have since decreased by 27% since the peak in 2021. The comptroller estimates that federal payments will by 1-2% over the next biennium, which would still be above pre-pandemic levels.
Sales taxes are the state’s second largest source of revenue. In 2023, the growth in sales tax receipts was slightly above the historical norm. This was followed by the growth flattening out in 2024. Through September of this year, sales tax receipts are below the historical average at 3.68%.
The brief also includes information on health service fees and rebates, as well as oil and natural gas production taxes.
The full brief from the Baker Institute can be found here.
