Texas Set New Record for Total Jobs in January, Here’s How

In January 2026 alone, the State of Texas saw 14,379,500 open positions filled in total—a new historic high for the state. Let's take a look at other impressive numbers as reported by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

Shattering Records in Texas

Included in the 14 million total jobs for the month, Texas added 40,100 nonfarm jobs. When someone is on nonfarm payroll, that just means that they work in a field other than farming, private households, nonprofits, and self-employment.

Active service members in the military also fall outside of nonfarm jobs.

In total, the Texas labor force for January 2026 reached 15,955,200, and Governor Abbott, in a recent press release, attributed the massive success to Texas' innovative business climate and diverse industries:

Almost any industry that you can think of, Texas is already leading in. And more importantly, we are attracting even more of those businesses to the state.

Texas Outpaces the National Average

As if this feat couldn't get more impressive, the TWC included that, from January 2025 to January 2026, Texas added 112,200 jobs. That's a growth rate of 0.8 percent, outpacing the national growth rate by 0.6 percentage points.

Check out these other stats from January in Texas' labor market:

• Unemployment rate statewide remained stable at 4.3%
• Amarillo had the lowest unemployment rate in Texas at 3.3%, followed by Midland (3.4%) and San Angelo (3.5%)
• Lubbock had an unemployment rate of 3.7%
• The highest unemployment rate in Texas was Eagle Pass at 9.8%
• The construction industry saw the largest private sector increase with 11,800 new jobs