Strong Job Growth in Texas Spurs Household Formation

While job growth in Texas has recently decelerated at about the same pace as the rest of the U.S., the employment market in the Lone Star state continues to surpass national standards. Texas generated 336,800 jobs in the year-ending November, increasing the existing job base by 2.7%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was well ahead of the U.S. increase of 1.8%. Among individual markets, some of the strongest job growth nationwide has occurred in Texas metros specifically. In fact, out of 280 markets sampled nationally, Midland/Odessa ranked #15 for job growth in the year-ending November, while Dallas/Fort Worth ranked #20. Also ranking in the top quartile nationally for job growth in the past year were McAllen/Brownsville, Austin, San Antonio and College Station. Houston just missed the top quartile ranking at #80. Strong job growth tends to precede solid household formation, and apartment demand has been solid in Texas recently, especially in Houston, Austin and Dallas.

For more information on the state of the Texas apartment market, including forecasts, watch the webcast Market Intelligence: Q1 Texas Update.