Marathon Pundit: Dallas Fed chief separates “fact from fiction” on Texas jobs

Friday, August 19, 2011

Dallas Fed chief separates “fact from fiction” on Texas jobs

Rick Perry must be doing something right. The Democrats are attacking his success in job creation in the Lone Star State.

From a Perry press release:

Dallas Fed Chief separates "fact from fiction" on Texas jobs

On Wednesday, Richard Fisher, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, gave a speech in which he separated "fact from fiction" about the record of job creation in Texas.

Key facts from his remarks include:

Texas Job Growth is Indisputable: "These are the facts. You may select whichever metric you wish. Regardless, it is reasonable to assume Texas has accounted for a significant amount of the nation’s employment growth both over the past 20 years and since the recession officially ended."

Most new jobs are unrelated to the oil and gas sector: “The most jobs have been created in the educational and health services sector, which accounts for 13.5 percent of Texas’ employment. The second-most jobs have been created in the professional and business services sector, which accounts for 12.5 percent of the Texas workforce. The mining sector, which includes support activities for both mining and oil and gas, employs 2.1 percent (yes, two-point-one percent) of Texas' workers."

Most New Jobs Pay Good Wages: "…these jobs are not low-paying jobs. The average weekly wage in the education and health services sector is $790; in the professional and business services sector it is $1,117; and in the mining sector, the average weekly wage is $2,271. Together these three sectors account for 68 percent of the jobs that have been created in Texas in the past two years."

Texas job gains are a result of pro-growth policies on taxes, spending and regulations: "…people and businesses have been picking up stakes and moving to Texas in significant numbers over a prolonged period… And yet Texas, like all states, is subject to the same monetary policy as all the rest… From this, I draw the conclusion that private sector capital and jobs will go to where taxes and spending and regulatory policy are most conducive to growth."

To create jobs, Washington must address taxes, spending and regulations: "The Committee of 12 and the president have an awesome task. Essentially, they must reboot our entire system of economic incentives and come forward with an updated tax and spending and regulatory regime that incentivizes businesses to invest in the United States and create jobs for American workers rather than gravitate to foreign shores."

The Dallas Fed will provide ongoing updates to counteract inaccurate information: "The Dallas Fed will henceforth be providing monthly updates on employment in Texas through our website at www.dallasfed.org. We hope it will be a useful tool for everyone ranging from columnists who write for the New York Times to the pundits who provide commentary for Fox News, as well as serious economists."

To view full text of Mr. Fisher's remarks, please visit http://www.dallasfed.org/news/speeches/fisher/2011/fs110817.cfm