An increase in employment and trade, along with a robust housing market, helped the El Paso Business-Cycle Index increase by 2.7% annually in September. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the metro’s annualized 4% job growth was the major contributing factor to the business cycle index boost.

Annualized total trade in August stood at $79 billion, representing a 14.5% increase from July. Imports increased 11.4%, while exports were 19.2% higher. And while the U.S. industrial sector has been sluggish, Mexico’s maquiladoras continued adding jobs, with Juarez manufacturing employment increasing 4.7% year over year in July, according to the latest data.

Even better news, was that September annualized housing sales totaled 7,097, coming close to its pre-recession peak. Home prices have remained relatively stable averaging $144,735.

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