Anticipating the $15 billion in budget cuts lawmakers passed during the legislative session, state agencies have been dropping employees for more than a year. This table shows employment changes at state agencies from May 2010 to May 2011.
Economy
Get the latest on jobs, business, growth, and policy shaping the state’s economy with in-depth reporting from The Texas Tribune.
Anticipating Budget Cuts, State Agencies Shrink
The numbers prove it: State government is shrinking. Many attribute the drop in state jobs to the budget cuts lawmakers passed last legislative session. But agencies had been preparing for the deficit by dropping employees for more than a year.
Protesters Gather for Boehner Reception
Protesters gathered outside the Headliners Club in Austin to urge U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Congress to pass the American Jobs Act. Boehner was in Austin to attend a reception with several GOP congressmen from Texas.
Texas Reports Increased Jobless Rate
The shining Texas jobs miracle that Gov. Rick Perry is touting on the presidential campaign trail may be dimming, according to statistics released today by the Texas Workforce Commission. Texas lost 1,300 jobs in August, marking the first month of employment decline in Texas in almost a year.
Smith Pushes to Mandate Use of E-Verify Nationwide
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, took his efforts to require nationwide use of the electronic employment verification program, known as E-Verify, before his committee today. “Yes, E-Verify is a jobs killer, but only for illegal workers,” he said.
Officials Insist EPA Rule Could Turn the Lights Off in Texas
At a hearing today, power companies and state agencies slammed the Environmental Protection Agency over a measure aimed at reducing emissions from power plants in 27 states, including Texas.
How Will Obama’s Jobs Bill Affect Texas?
President Obama sent a $447 billion jobs bill to Congress today — his latest attempt to revive the struggling economy. How will Texas be affected?
Fact-Checking Romney’s Claims About Texas Jobs
Mitt Romney says Rick Perry has “substantially underperformed his predecessors on job creation” and that the state’s unemployment rate has doubled on his watch. Is Romney right?
Video: Dewhurst Attacks Obama, D.C. in New Campaign Ad
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is running for the U.S. Senate, has released a new ad attacking the president and Washington, D.C.
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson on the stats behind the Texas Miracle, Aguilar on an area of the budget that didn’t get cut during the session, Dehn and Tan wrap-up our 31 Days, 31 Ways project, Galbraith talks to Todd Staples about the drought, Grissom on controversial executions during Rick Perry’s tenure (plus a visualization by Murphy and Seger), Hamilton on the Rodney Dangerfield of Texas universities, Philpott on the search for clues in past Perry debates, Ramshaw on Perry’s opposition to abortion rights and Root on Perry’s assurances to conservatives that his past won’t embarrass them: The best of our best content from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2, 2011.


