Texas is poster child for economic recovery

AUSTIN – Forbes has ranked Austin as the city best surviving the recession.

Austin tied with Washington, DC for the number one slot.

Four Texas cities made the top 10, including Dallas, San Antonio and Houston.

Forbes looked at unemployment, rate of job growth and projections, home prices and cost of goods and services.

“This Forbes ranking highlights the relative economic strength of our state’s major metropolitan cities, which is good news not only for the people who live in Texas, but for those looking to move to a state with a strong economic future,” said Gov. Rick Perry.

“Texas continues to be the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family thanks to our low tax burden, predictable regulatory climate, skilled workforce and principled, disciplined spending.”

Cities where recession is easing; excerpts by Francesca Levy

…Government spending hasn’t hurt Austin.

It’s the seat of state government and tied for No. 1 on the Forbes list of 10 cities best surviving the recession.

Jobs have been lost nearly everywhere in the last three years, but between December 2007 and December 2009 the number of jobs in Austin rose by 0.98%; more than any of the other major cities we looked at.

And by three years from now, jobs are expected to grow by 8.09%, the secondbest job outlook on our list.

Third on the list is Dallas, home to a thriving technology and energy sector, where jobs are projected to jump 7.19% in three years.

…If one state is a poster child for economic recovery, it’s Texas, home to four of the 10 cities on our list. There’s more to why Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston are faring well than just the state’s energy industry.

The tech, government and education industries supplement the oil state’s riches.

As for housing, cities in Texas didn’t see the same run-up in home prices and rampant speculation that led to the spectacular bubble burst elsewhere in the country.

“The housing market got lucky, if you want to look at it that way,” says James P. Gaines, research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

“We didn’t have excessive overbuilding, so we don’t have a big overhang of unsold new homes, and because Texas has among most affordable housing in the country, the demand sustained.”

Like Austin and Dallas, Houston, tied for No. 4 on the list, is expected to experience a three-year 7.03% rise in jobs.

But nowhere are jobs projected to grow more than in San Antonio, where four military bases should help drive its expected 8.32% increase.