www.thecentersquare.com – By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-18 15:31:00
(The Center Square) – Texas broke its own employment records again in March, leading the U.S. in job creation. The outlier was in the oil and natural gas sector, which reported a loss, breaking its own pattern of job records, reflecting market volatility.
As in previous months, Texas broke its own employment records for having the greatest number of jobs, the greatest number of Texans working and the largest labor force in state history in March, according to the latest Texas Workforce Commission data.
Texas employers reported the largest labor force in state history again with a new record of 15,778,500, marking 57 of 59 months of growth. Over the year, Texas’ civilian labor force added 301,400 workers, more than any other state.
Texas also reached a new high for the greatest number of Texans working last month, including the self-employed, totaling 15,137,500.
Texas also added 26,500 positions over the month to reach a total of 14,282,600 nonfarm jobs in March. Texas employers added 192,100 nonfarm jobs over the year, more than any other state, bringing the annual nonfarm growth rate to 1.4%, again outpacing the national growth rate by 0.2%.
“Texas leads the nation in job creation thanks to our booming economy and highly skilled workforce,” Gov. Greg Abbott said. “Every month, Texas welcomes businesses from across the country and around the world to innovate and invest in our great state. By funding our schools more than ever before and expanding career and technical training programs, we will prepare more Texans for better job and bigger paycheck opportunities to build a more prosperous Texas.”
“The robust Texas economy continues to create opportunities for our workforce, as evidenced by over 544,000 job postings in March, despite record employment,” noted TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Alberto Treviño III. “TWC is committed to ensuring Texans can capitalize on this economic momentum by providing services like career counseling, job search assistance, and skills training, helping them develop a clear path to career success.”
Texas is also “outpacing the nation in various industries, reinforcing the state’s reputation across the world as the best for doing business,” TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Joe Esparza said.
Last month, the Private Education and Health Services industry reported the largest over-the-month increase after adding 9,500 jobs, according to the data. Construction added 8,500 jobs over the month; Trade, Transportation, and Utilities added 6,100. As Texas expands construction and infrastructure projects statewide, the construction industry reported the largest growth in the country of 3.4% over the year, outperforming the industry’s growth rate nationally by 1.6%.
Unlike previous months, the Texas upstream sector reported a loss of 700 jobs over the month in oil and natural gas extraction. Total jobs in the sector hovered just over 204,400.
The upstream sector includes oil and natural gas extraction and some types of mining. It excludes other sectors like refining, petrochemicals, fuels wholesaling, oilfield equipment manufacturing, pipelines, and gas utilities, which support hundreds of thousands of additional jobs statewide.
That’s down from the sector adding 1,900 jobs over the month in February, bringing the total upstream employment to 205,400 two months ago before the Trump tariff war began, The Center Square reported.
“As a result of recent commodity price movement and significant market volatility, there are high uncertainties in outlooks for future energy supply, demand and prices,” the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association notes in an analysis of the employment data.
TIPRO and others have expressed concerns about the Trump administration tariff policy and pushing for foreign crude production, which is negatively impacting the industry and caused oil prices to tank, The Center Square reported. A silver lining, industry executives argue, is the administration rolling back Biden-era regulations that targeted it, The Center Square reported.
SUMMARY: Texas lawmakers passed a ban on nonmedical sales of THC, the intoxicating cannabis ingredient, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott for approval. The ban targets unregulated hemp-derived THC products, which have flourished since 2019 under loose federal and state rules. Supporters, like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Rep. Tom Oliverson, argue it closes a dangerous loophole exploited by a growing black market. Opponents, including the Texas Hemp Business Council and Democrats like Rep. Rafael Anchía, warn the ban could cripple the $5 billion hemp industry and push consumers to black markets. Meanwhile, Texas plans to expand its tightly restricted medical marijuana program.
SUMMARY: The Travis County Transformation Project (TCTP), launched in 2023, offers teens involved in family violence an alternative to juvenile detention. The program aims to address the teens’ and their families’ needs, such as mental health and substance abuse issues. However, one teen who participated in TCTP felt unsupported, as his family issues persisted. After spending time in diversion and CPS custody, the teen reoffended and was re-arrested. His attorney criticized the program for lacking a dedicated legal advocate for participants. The District Attorney’s Office defended the initiative, noting it had successfully diverted numerous teens from the justice system.
In Lubbock, Texas, a measles outbreak is causing anxiety among new parents, prompting many to vaccinate their children early. As of April 30, 7,107 babies received early MMR vaccines, the highest in six years. The outbreak, the largest since measles was eliminated 25 years ago, has spread across the state, with 722 cases reported. Vaccine skepticism, fueled by figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is exacerbating the crisis. Parents are taking precautions, with some avoiding crowded places and limiting exposure to protect their children until they can be vaccinated. Experts warn the outbreak could threaten measles elimination status.
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LUBBOCK — When Kelly Johnson Pirtle was counting down the days to her due date last year, she pictured her future as a new mom. She thought of family visits, friends becoming her village, and a healthy child.
She never considered that she might have to shield her newborn son John from a once-eradicated disease.
“You want your kids to grow up in a world that’s healthy and moving forward,” Johnson said. “That’s not true during the first few months of his life. It makes me sad.”
Pirtle is one of many new parents in Lubbock who are growing more anxious as the measles outbreak, and vaccine skepticism, spreads. And Lubbock parents aren’t the only ones terrified of their young children contracting the contagious virus. From January to April 30, 7,107 babies have received a dose of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine early, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. It’s the state’s highest number in the last six years. It could be even higher since the data only includes children whose parents opted into submitting their information to the state.
The outbreak has ballooned to 722 cases in Texas since it began in January. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the measles outbreak is now the largest single outbreak since the U.S. declared the disease eliminated 25 years ago. Nine new cases were reported Friday, the lowest number since February. However, health officials can’t consider an outbreak over until there’s been a 42-day period without a new case.
As the outbreak spreads beyond West Texas, skepticism about the vaccine has intensified, including at a national level. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic, has spread misinformation about the vaccine. Earlier this month, Kennedy ordered federal health agencies to research new treatments for measles. Public health officials have said two doses of the MMR vaccine is the most effective way to prevent measles.
Kelly Johnson Pirtle is one of many new parents in Lubbock who are growing more anxious as the measles outbreak, and vaccine skepticism, spreads. Credit: Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune
However, a lot of time stands between those two doses and a sense of security for new parents. Doctors recommend that children get their first dose of the MMR vaccine when they are 12 months old. The timeline is shorter — just six months — for children in areas with an outbreak.
That is the case in Lubbock, about 87 miles northeast of Gaines County where the outbreak started and more than 400 cases have been confirmed. There have been 53 confirmed cases in Lubbock County. Lubbock, with a population of 267,000, is the largest city in the South Plains and serves as a medical hub for the region. Due to a dearth of rural hospitals and physicians, people from all over the region flock to Lubbock for health care.
It has left the city and its residents to figure out how to protect themselves when so much of the outbreak is out of their control. Some new parents in Lubbock have reverted to COVID-era precautions — limited contact with people outside the home and avoiding crowded places. On social media groups, women ask other moms how young babies infected with measles fared, and share details on vaccine clinics. Others share locations where cases have been reported for other parents to avoid.
And at this point, they aren’t just battling the outbreak. They are also battling the consequences of a growing distrust about the vaccine, including school and child care centers closing as cases pop up.
A 2024 KFF study found that exemption rates have gone up nationwide. The amount of kindergartners in the U.S. who were exempted from at least one required vaccine increased to 3.3%. Since 2018, the requests to the Texas Department of State Health Services for an exemption form have doubled from 45,900 to more than 93,000 in 2024.
In Lubbock County, 92% of kindergarteners reported being vaccinated against measles in the 2023-2024 school year, about 2 percentage points lower than the state average, according to latest state data.
Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas’ reigning infectious disease expert and physician, said the situation unraveling with vaccine hesitancy is part of the medical freedom movement.
“It’s a bit of phony propaganda,” Hotez said. “The only freedom being restricted is the freedom of parents who have to worry about bringing their infant to the store.”
For Pirtle and her husband, Adam, being cautious is the best way they can keep John safe until he gets the first dose. The parents found out their 3-month-old will need open heart surgery at the end of May. The surgery has a high success rate, but if John gets an infection before then, it would have to be postponed.
Even a recent trip to a friend’s baby celebration was cut short because the Pirtles feared the red patch on John’s cheek was measles; it turned out to be baby acne.
“Vaccines have always been a team effort,” Adam Pirtle said. “Like with herd immunity, we’re all part of the herd. Then all of a sudden, people decide not to play on the team. That hurts everyone.”
Kelly Johnson Pirtle swaddles John at their home in Lubbock. Pirtle’s family has reverted to COVID-era precautions until it’s safe to have their son vaccinated. Credit: Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune
Kyle Rable, the father of a 10-week-old in Lubbock, said he and his wife have also had to think carefully about where they take their son. They don’t take him grocery shopping or let strangers near him. They try to only take him out for outdoor events.
“Measles wasn’t on our radar. We were more worried about the cold and RSV,” Rable said. “We’re kind of counting down to when we can go get him that shot.”
Rable and his wife both work, so their son will start attending child care at the end of this month. They have been listening for any word on if the care center they want to go to has cases pop up.
“We can’t really not have him at day care,” Rable said. “We’re hoping everyone keeps up on their child’s vaccines to keep our child safe.”
Research has shown that measles is a potentially deadly infection where 20% of kids end up being hospitalized. The measles can cause pneumonia, brain inflammation, and permanent neurologic injury along with other long-term complications.
Hotez said babies can’t get the vaccine sooner than six months old because they have maternal antibodies that may affect the vaccine’s effectiveness.
He said the MMR vaccine is one of the safest, most effective vaccines. However, he doesn’t see the measles outbreak slowing down, as it has spread to low-vaccinated, conservative regions across the U.S. Great Plains.
“The worry I have is if this goes on for months and months, eventually we get to the point where we’ve lost our measles elimination status,” Hotez said.
First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
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Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article presents factual information about a measles outbreak with a focus on health data, parental concerns, and expert opinions. It highlights the public health implications of vaccine skepticism without politicizing the issue or promoting partisan viewpoints. The coverage centers on community impact and scientific consensus, reflecting a neutral and balanced stance appropriate for informing a broad audience.
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