CHAMBER: WACO LEADS STATE JOB CREATION

(GREATER WACO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RELEASE)
Waco ranked first in job creation in Texas adding 3,100 jobs – a gain of 2.9 percent - from September 2009 to September 2010. The Texas’ economy added 177,600 jobs from September 2009 to September 2010, an annual gain of 1.6 percent outpacing the U.S. which experienced a slight gain of 0.4 percent for the same period when comparing total employment.


“The Greater Waco economy is strong and has added jobs in key sectors such as manufacturing and professional and health services in the past year. It is exciting that Waco’s job growth rate is nearly double that of Texas’ impressive performance,” said Jim Vaughan, President/CEO of Greater Waco Chamber. “Several years ago, the Chamber adopted a strategic initiative to exceed Texas’ average for job growth, which is no small feat given that Texas has created more than 80 percent of the private sector jobs in the nation during the past five years. The region’s focus on being a leader in Texas’ robust economy is paying off.”

The private sector is playing a key role in job creation in Waco, accounting for a gain of 2,000 jobs. That sector also posted an annual employment growth rate of 1.9 percent in Texas compared with 0.5 percent for the nation from September 2009 to September 2010, according to the Texas Real Estate Center.

Waco was followed by Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, College Station-Bryan and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission in job creation for the same period.