And they’re the same reasons why money and jobs are leaving Illinois. From the NCPA:
The Texas economy has been a remarkable success story in recent years. Compared with other states, the recession largely bypassed it, say John C. Goodman, president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, and Travis H. Brown, author of How Money Walks.
- Between 2001 and 2011, while many other states were hemorrhaging jobs, Texas increased private-sector employment by 732,800.
- These aren’t low-paying jobs — the average wage in Texas is in the middle of the pack nationwide; and since the beginning of the recession, wage growth in Texas has been the sixth-fastest in the nation.
Why has Texas been so successful at job creation? It’s a very labor-friendly state. The Mercatus Center at George Mason University ranks Texas No. 1 in “labor market freedom.”
Texas has been attracting capital as well as labor.
