Though parts of Texas became job-creation juggernauts in 2016, other regions suffered, due to the oil-price slump. Overall, job growth in the Lone Star state increased 1.6%. And, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Assistant Vice President and Senior Economist Keith Phillips, job growth in 2017 will end up at around 2%. Translating that to numbers, it means Texas is poised to add an additional 242,000 jobs.

Phillips, who presented the Bank’s annual Texas Economic Outlook to business leaders at the Dallas Fed’s San Antonio branch, indicated that, while the state’s economy had weakened in the past two years, it did continue  growing, thanks to the service sector. Furthermore, “job growth picked up in the second half of 2016, due to a stabilization of the energy sector,” Phillips said. “With that positive momentum, the Texas economy enters 2017 poised to shift into ‘second gear,”, he added.

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