Texas vs. California
Comparative Trends Analysis:
Total Employment Growth and Change, 1969-2022
Introduction
Texas vs. California
Texas:
2022 Jobs = 19,631,436
2022 Percent of U.S. = 9.24%
2022 Rank = #2
California:
2022 Jobs = 25,300,974
2022 Percent of U.S. = 11.91%
2022 Rank = #1
Employment numbers remain the most popular and frequently cited statistics used for tracking local area economic conditions and trends. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) employment estimates reported measure the number of full- and part-time wage and salary employees, plus the number of proprietors of unincorporated businesses. People holding more than one job are counted in the employment estimates for each job they hold. This means BEA employment estimates represent a job count, not a people count. Also, BEA employment is by place-of-work, rather than by place-of-residence. Jobs held by neighboring county residents who commute to Texas to work are included in the employment count for Texas.
Data Definition:
The BEA employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included. Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership. The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wage and salary disbursements and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 traces Texas' and California's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Texas' total employment rose from 5,005,193 in 1969 to 19,631,436 in 2022, for a net gain of 14,626,243, or 292.22%. In comparison, California's total employment advanced from 9,032,738 in 1969 to 25,300,974 in 2022, for a net gain of 16,268,236, or 180.10%. Texas' total employment ranked 2nd among the 51 states in 2022, California's ranked 1st.
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 portrays Texas' total employment growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with California, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's total employment in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the total employments in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in total employment growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.
Texas' overall total employment growth was 292.22% over 1969-2022 outpaced California's increase of 180.10%, and topped the United States' increase of 133.32%.
Total Employment as a Percent of the United States Total: 1969-2022
Total Employment as a Percent of the United States Total: 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the total employment growth of Texas and California is to compare their individual percentage contributions to the United States' total total employment over time, as shown in Figure 3. A rising share means a state's total employment grew faster, or declined less, than the United States' total employment, while a declining share shows they grew more slowly.
In 1969, Texas' total employment comprised 5.50% of the United States' total employment, while in 2022 it comprised 9.24% thereby yielding a +3.74% share-shift. Similarly, in 1969, California's total employment made up 9.92% of the United States' total employment, while in 2022 it accounted for 11.91%, resulting in a +1.99% share-shift.
   
 
Total Employment Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
+3.74%
=
9.24%
-
5.50%
+1.99%
=
11.91%
-
9.92%
 
   
Texas Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Texas Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 4.
Figure 4 highlights the short-run pattern of Texas' total employment growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.
On average, Texas' total employment grew at an annual rate of 2.63% over 1970-2022. The state recorded its highest growth in 1978 (5.82%) and posted its lowest growth in 1986 (-1.84%). In 2022, Texas' total employment grew by 5.78%
Texas Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Texas Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Over the past six decades some states have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 5 again shows the annual percent change in Texas' total employment since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.
During the 1970s, Texas' annual total employment growth rate averaged 3.74%. It averaged 2.26% during the 1980s, 2.71% throughout the 1990s, 1.92% throughout the 2000s, 2.34% during the 2010s, 3.17% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 6.
Figure 6 compares the decade average growth rates for Texas noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for California and the nation. As the chart reveals, Texas' average annual total employment growth led California's average in the 1970s (3.74% vs. 3.29%), posted below California's average throughout the 1980s (2.26% vs. 2.81%), exceeded California's average throughout the 1990s (2.71% vs. 1.40%), led California's average throughout the 2000s (1.92% vs. 0.53%), surpassed California's average throughout the 2010s (2.34% vs. 2.03%), and registered above California's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (3.17% vs. 1.55%).
Finally, relative to nationwide total employment growth trends, Texas exceeded the nation throughout the 1970s (3.74% vs. 2.21%), outperformed the nation in the 1980s (2.26% vs. 1.88%), surpassed the nation in the 1990s (2.71% vs. 1.73%), outperformed the nation throughout the 2000s (1.92% vs. 0.74%), surpassed the nation over the 2010s (2.34% vs. 1.51%), and exceeded the nation over 2020-2022 (3.17% vs. 1.82%).
   
 
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
2.63
3.74
2.26
2.71
1.92
2.34
3.17
5.78
 
1.99
3.29
2.81
1.40
0.53
2.03
1.55
5.71
 
1.62
2.21
1.88
1.73
0.74
1.51
1.82
4.78
 
   
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Figure 7.
The job ratios shown in Figure 7 for Texas, California and the nation not only portray a number of important trends, they also serves as a thumbnail guide to evaluating an economy's capacity to generate enough jobs fast enough to absorb the increasing number of workers attendant to a growing population. The job ratio is the number of full-time and part-time jobs by place of work, divided by population.
Nationally, the job ratio rose from 0.45 to 0.64 between 1969 and 2022. Texas' job ratio registered 0.45 in 1969, and 0.65 in 2022. Underlying the rising job ratio over the past several decades have been the increases in the labor force participation rates, with the number and proportion of women in the labor market playing a leading role.
An assortment of other factors can contribute to regional differences in the job ratio. They include differences in the proportion of elderly and retirees who no longer work and participate in the labor force, differences in the number and proportion of part-time vs. full-time workers, differences in industry composition, and differences in age and sex distribution and degree of urbanization. Also, a disproportionate number of workers commuting to work outside a state tends to lower its local state job ratio, while a net inflow of workers commuting to work inside the state tends to augment its local state job ratio.
Avoid interpreting the job ratio as the fraction (or percent) of the local population employed. This interpretation should only apply to the "employment-population ratio" statistic compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Figure 8.
To highlight trends in a local job ratio relative to nationwide trends, Figure 8 tracks Texas', California's, and the United States' job ratio as a percent of the national job ratio over 1969-2022.

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Texas:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
5,005,193
100.0
N
5.50
0.45
100.18
5
1970
 
5,045,435
100.8
0.80
5.53
0.45
100.25
5
1971
 
5,123,138
102.4
1.54
5.59
0.45
100.52
4
1972
 
5,333,823
106.6
4.11
5.66
0.45
100.65
3
1973
 
5,608,047
112.0
5.14
5.70
0.47
100.19
3
1974
 
5,822,056
116.3
3.82
5.82
0.47
101.13
3
1975
 
5,938,330
118.6
2.00
6.00
0.47
102.93
3
1976
 
6,206,757
124.0
4.52
6.11
0.48
103.01
3
1977
 
6,520,814
130.3
5.06
6.21
0.49
103.42
3
1978
 
6,900,142
137.9
5.82
6.29
0.51
103.51
3
1979
 
7,214,707
144.1
4.56
6.38
0.52
103.11
3
1980
 
7,495,945
149.8
3.90
6.58
0.52
104.22
3
1981
 
7,900,274
157.8
5.39
6.87
0.54
106.98
3
1982
 
8,074,282
161.3
2.20
7.07
0.53
106.87
3
1983
 
8,064,275
161.1
-0.12
6.97
0.51
103.50
3
1984
 
8,433,673
168.5
4.58
7.00
0.53
103.09
3
1985
 
8,673,542
173.3
2.84
7.01
0.53
102.44
3
1986
 
8,514,204
170.1
-1.84
6.74
0.51
97.80
3
1987
 
8,723,023
174.3
2.45
6.73
0.52
98.15
3
1988
 
8,880,181
177.4
1.80
6.65
0.53
97.53
3
1989
 
9,005,310
179.9
1.41
6.61
0.54
97.12
3
1990
 
9,242,899
184.7
2.64
6.68
0.54
97.79
3
1991
 
9,403,936
187.9
1.74
6.83
0.54
99.37
3
1992
 
9,482,932
189.5
0.84
6.86
0.53
99.13
2
1993
 
9,780,517
195.4
3.14
6.95
0.54
99.43
2
1994
 
10,098,087
201.8
3.25
7.00
0.54
99.26
2
1995
 
10,439,859
208.6
3.38
7.06
0.55
99.13
2
1996
 
10,737,590
214.5
2.85
7.11
0.56
99.01
2
1997
 
11,165,358
223.1
3.98
7.22
0.57
99.79
2
1998
 
11,541,749
230.6
3.37
7.28
0.57
99.66
2
1999
 
11,761,409
235.0
1.90
7.28
0.57
98.83
2
2000
 
12,138,771
242.5
3.21
7.34
0.58
98.89
2
2001
 
12,284,685
245.4
1.20
7.42
0.58
99.20
2
2002
 
12,291,965
245.6
0.06
7.45
0.57
98.73
2
2003
 
12,374,943
247.2
0.68
7.46
0.56
98.21
2
2004
 
12,588,075
251.5
1.72
7.46
0.56
97.48
2
2005
 
13,003,916
259.8
3.30
7.55
0.57
97.89
2
2006
 
13,493,483
269.6
3.76
7.67
0.58
98.00
2
2007
 
14,008,293
279.9
3.82
7.80
0.59
98.62
2
2008
 
14,365,985
287.0
2.55
8.02
0.59
100.28
2
2009
 
14,202,860
283.8
-1.14
8.18
0.57
101.17
2
2010
 
14,262,584
285.0
0.42
8.25
0.57
101.12
2
2011
 
14,681,517
293.3
2.94
8.34
0.57
101.44
2
2012
 
15,095,946
301.6
2.82
8.43
0.58
101.76
2
2013
 
15,532,152
310.3
2.89
8.52
0.59
102.06
2
2014
 
16,001,898
319.7
3.02
8.59
0.59
101.95
2
2015
 
16,414,554
328.0
2.58
8.62
0.60
101.30
2
2016
 
16,683,280
333.3
1.64
8.63
0.60
100.53
2
2017
 
17,104,407
341.7
2.52
8.71
0.61
100.90
2
2018
 
17,608,884
351.8
2.95
8.79
0.62
101.31
2
2019
 
17,901,639
357.7
1.66
8.88
0.62
101.60
2
2020
 
17,700,743
353.6
-1.12
9.06
0.61
102.79
2
2021
 
18,559,325
370.8
4.85
9.15
0.63
102.82
2
2022
 
19,631,436
392.2
5.78
9.24
0.65
102.56
2
Source: Calculations by the United States Regional Economic Analysis Project (US-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_SA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
California:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
9,032,738
100.0
N
9.92
0.46
101.31
1
1970
 
9,056,897
100.3
0.27
9.92
0.45
100.99
1
1971
 
9,036,074
100.0
-0.23
9.87
0.44
100.30
1
1972
 
9,368,468
103.7
3.68
9.93
0.46
100.99
1
1973
 
9,843,939
109.0
5.08
10.00
0.47
101.29
1
1974
 
10,163,089
112.5
3.24
10.15
0.48
102.29
1
1975
 
10,286,346
113.9
1.21
10.40
0.48
104.05
1
1976
 
10,632,968
117.7
3.37
10.47
0.48
103.81
1
1977
 
11,119,255
123.1
4.57
10.59
0.50
104.08
1
1978
 
11,815,943
130.8
6.27
10.77
0.52
104.76
1
1979
 
12,460,727
138.0
5.46
11.01
0.54
106.35
1
1980
 
12,761,955
141.3
2.42
11.20
0.54
106.89
1
1981
 
12,934,962
143.2
1.36
11.26
0.53
106.35
1
1982
 
12,862,878
142.4
-0.56
11.27
0.52
105.16
1
1983
 
13,182,023
145.9
2.48
11.40
0.52
105.08
1
1984
 
13,796,978
152.7
4.67
11.45
0.53
104.45
1
1985
 
14,284,986
158.1
3.54
11.54
0.54
103.83
1
1986
 
14,709,923
162.9
2.97
11.65
0.54
103.25
1
1987
 
15,300,046
169.4
4.01
11.81
0.55
103.02
1
1988
 
16,021,802
177.4
4.72
12.00
0.56
103.04
1
1989
 
16,425,901
181.8
2.52
12.06
0.56
101.89
1
1990
 
16,834,515
186.4
2.49
12.17
0.56
101.40
1
1991
 
16,750,052
185.4
-0.50
12.17
0.55
101.06
1
1992
 
16,390,983
181.5
-2.14
11.86
0.53
98.24
1
1993
 
16,367,123
181.2
-0.15
11.63
0.52
96.63
1
1994
 
16,540,724
183.1
1.06
11.47
0.53
95.87
1
1995
 
16,939,791
187.5
2.41
11.45
0.53
96.21
1
1996
 
17,341,994
192.0
2.37
11.48
0.54
96.59
1
1997
 
17,667,115
195.6
1.87
11.43
0.54
95.95
1
1998
 
18,432,865
204.1
4.33
11.63
0.56
97.26
1
1999
 
18,852,334
208.7
2.28
11.67
0.56
97.22
1
2000
 
19,228,895
212.9
2.00
11.63
0.57
96.53
1
2001
 
19,341,458
214.1
0.59
11.69
0.56
96.58
1
2002
 
19,358,251
214.3
0.09
11.73
0.56
96.71
1
2003
 
19,478,732
215.6
0.62
11.74
0.55
96.61
1
2004
 
19,784,214
219.0
1.57
11.72
0.56
96.45
1
2005
 
20,126,936
222.8
1.73
11.68
0.56
96.33
1
2006
 
20,505,244
227.0
1.88
11.66
0.57
96.58
1
2007
 
20,888,508
231.3
1.87
11.63
0.58
96.68
1
2008
 
20,654,365
228.7
-1.12
11.52
0.56
95.74
1
2009
 
19,837,727
219.6
-3.95
11.42
0.54
94.82
1
2010
 
19,642,544
217.5
-0.98
11.36
0.53
94.17
1
2011
 
19,986,185
221.3
1.75
11.35
0.53
94.01
1
2012
 
20,666,919
228.8
3.41
11.55
0.54
95.59
1
2013
 
21,318,697
236.0
3.15
11.69
0.56
96.72
1
2014
 
21,996,861
243.5
3.18
11.81
0.57
97.60
1
2015
 
22,687,175
251.2
3.14
11.92
0.58
98.45
1
2016
 
23,177,961
256.6
2.16
11.98
0.59
99.10
1
2017
 
23,548,874
260.7
1.60
11.99
0.60
99.34
1
2018
 
24,077,466
266.6
2.24
12.02
0.61
99.90
1
2019
 
24,225,068
268.2
0.61
12.01
0.61
100.32
1
2020
 
23,154,091
256.3
-4.42
11.86
0.59
99.50
1
2021
 
23,934,549
265.0
3.37
11.80
0.61
100.13
1
2022
 
25,300,974
280.1
5.71
11.91
0.65
101.70
1
Source: Calculations by the United States Regional Economic Analysis Project (US-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_SA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
91,053,200
100.0
N
0.45
1970
 
91,277,600
100.2
0.25
0.45
1971
 
91,581,400
100.6
0.33
0.44
1972
 
94,312,200
103.6
2.98
0.45
1973
 
98,427,500
108.1
4.36
0.47
1974
 
100,111,800
109.9
1.71
0.47
1975
 
98,900,600
108.6
-1.21
0.46
1976
 
101,591,200
111.6
2.72
0.47
1977
 
105,042,200
115.4
3.40
0.48
1978
 
109,686,600
120.5
4.42
0.49
1979
 
113,147,100
124.3
3.15
0.50
1980
 
113,983,200
125.2
0.74
0.50
1981
 
114,914,000
126.2
0.82
0.50
1982
 
114,163,300
125.4
-0.65
0.49
1983
 
115,645,700
127.0
1.30
0.49
1984
 
120,528,100
132.4
4.22
0.51
1985
 
123,796,700
136.0
2.71
0.52
1986
 
126,232,300
138.6
1.97
0.53
1987
 
129,548,400
142.3
2.63
0.53
1988
 
133,563,900
146.7
3.10
0.55
1989
 
136,177,800
149.6
1.96
0.55
1990
 
138,330,900
151.9
1.58
0.55
1991
 
137,612,800
151.1
-0.52
0.54
1992
 
138,166,100
151.7
0.40
0.54
1993
 
140,774,400
154.6
1.89
0.54
1994
 
144,196,600
158.4
2.43
0.55
1995
 
147,915,800
162.4
2.58
0.56
1996
 
151,056,200
165.9
2.12
0.56
1997
 
154,541,200
169.7
2.31
0.57
1998
 
158,481,200
174.1
2.55
0.57
1999
 
161,531,300
177.4
1.92
0.58
2000
 
165,370,800
181.6
2.38
0.59
2001
 
165,522,200
181.8
0.09
0.58
2002
 
165,095,100
181.3
-0.26
0.57
2003
 
165,921,500
182.2
0.50
0.57
2004
 
168,839,700
185.4
1.76
0.58
2005
 
172,338,400
189.3
2.07
0.58
2006
 
175,868,600
193.1
2.05
0.59
2007
 
179,543,700
197.2
2.09
0.60
2008
 
179,213,900
196.8
-0.18
0.59
2009
 
173,636,700
190.7
-3.11
0.57
2010
 
172,901,700
189.9
-0.42
0.56
2011
 
176,091,700
193.4
1.84
0.56
2012
 
178,979,700
196.6
1.64
0.57
2013
 
182,328,100
200.2
1.87
0.58
2014
 
186,239,800
204.5
2.15
0.58
2015
 
190,325,800
209.0
2.19
0.59
2016
 
193,425,900
212.4
1.63
0.60
2017
 
196,394,100
215.7
1.53
0.60
2018
 
200,292,200
220.0
1.98
0.61
2019
 
201,635,200
221.4
0.67
0.61
2020
 
195,286,600
214.5
-3.15
0.59
2021
 
202,752,100
222.7
3.82
0.61
2022
 
212,442,000
233.3
4.78
0.64
Source: Calculations by the United States Regional Economic Analysis Project (US-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_SA1400_1000_PN
 
   
Copyright © 2023. Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP). All Rights Reserved.

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