IndustryNet recently reported manufacturing job growth in Texas accelerated over the year, led by a recovering oil/gas sector. The state added 21,513 jobs, or 1.8%, according to MNI, publisher of the industrial data that powers IndustryNet.
Overall, Texas manufacturing employment has grown consistently in the post-recession era, with much of the growth led by the a booming oil sector.
The chart below illustrates the ups and downs of Texas manufacturing employment over the past ten years.
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The next chart illustrates growth in Texas’ oil/gas extraction sector, which generally follows the same growth pattern as the entire state, with a slight dip between 2014 and 2016, when a supply glut drove oil prices down.
But although oil/gas sector employment is a significant factor in the state’s post-recession gains, taken alone, the industry makes up a growing, but still fairly small (11%) share of the state’s industrial employment:
In fact, the state’s top three sectors, industrial machinery; oil & gas extraction; and fabricated metals, account for a about a third of the state’s manufacturing employment, as seen here:
Contrast this with North Dakota, another major oil-producing state, where its top three sectors account for nearly 50% of the state’s industrial employment, or California, a state of similar size, where its top three industries account for 40% of total manufacturing employment. 43% of Wisconsin industrial jobs are in that state’s top three sectors, as with Michigan, at 50%.
All of this highlights the fact that Texas’ manufacturing sector is not only large – the largest in the nation – but also one of its most diverse. The state boasts strongholds not just in oil/gas extraction, but in a wide spectrum of industries, including aeronautics, pharmaceuticals, chemical processing, electronics, and innovative and emerging subsectors like biotech and robotics.
The chart below illustrates the diversity in Texas industrial job gains over the past year.
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For an in-depth analysis of Texas’ manufacturing sector, including a year-by-year look at growth since the recession, see IndustryNet's latest report: Texas manufacturing job growth picks up speed
