It's not booming, but business in Texas has picked up. This interactive uses newly released U.S. Census Bureau data to show business patterns by county and Texas' economic progress through the recession. 

Cable companies can now break existing contracts with cities, negotiating instead for state-issued franchises, after the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal of a ruling that declared a 2005 Texas law unconstitutional.

Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday discussed his support for Mitt Romney, his confidence that minorities will support Republicans and the state's economic development. 

Use these interactive maps to compare the level of food insecurity across Texas to the number of Texans who receive federal food stamps and the estimated economic impact of the food assistance funding.

Nearly 100 local government entities in Texas have online access to a database with Texans’ employment information. This interactive shows which entities access the database — and how often.

For this week's nonscientific survey of political and government insiders, we asked some questions from the latest UT/TT poll about the economy, the state of the state and the country, and the most important problems ahead.

Although economic growth has slowed, April marks the 21st month in a row that the state has gained jobs, according to the latest statistics released by the Texas Workforce Commission.

According to demographic data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau, 55.2 percent of Texas' 2011 population was of a race other than non-Hispanic white, making it one of five "minority-majority" states in the nation.

With the state government tightening its belt, there are now 10,200 fewer state government employees, according to our latest analysis of data collected by the state auditor’s office. 

As Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, most of the Texas students identified as homeless by their school districts are ineligible for federal aid because of mixed definitions of what it means to be homeless.

There's another positive report on the Texas economy: 10,900 jobs were added in March, and the unemployment rate dropped to 7 percent from 8 percent last year, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

When Walmart, one of Texas’ largest private employers, dropped out of the state’s workers’ compensation system, it was a heavy blow to advocates of the system who have watched more large companies offer private injury benefits.

For this week's nonscientific survey of political and government insiders, we asked about the state's infrastructure problems, about tax incentives for a cash-rich company and about the economic effects of Texas vs. the EPA.

Since Texas' lowest dip in the recession, the state has added nearly 500,000 jobs. This interactive explores how the economy has changed by industry and region. 

The executive director of NALEO's Educational Fund on what it will take to motivate Latinos to vote this year, why immigration isn't the group's only concern and why voter ID legislation is a bad idea.

University of Houston President Renu Khator is setting aside $30 million to bring in 60 new faculty members over the next two years, all of them in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.

A new report says the number of Texas children living in areas of high poverty has increased about 40 percent over the past decade. And as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, advocacy groups hope the data will bolster anti-poverty programs.

At the national level, voters are concerned about pocketbook issues, while at home immigration is the top problem.