Southwest Economy
Addressing Texas grid reliability: Time to go nuclear?
Thirty years after Texas’ last nuclear plant opened, new nuclear generation could provide needed power without planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
May 13, 2024
Economic Indicators
Energy Indicators
Coal power usage continues to decline in Texas. Solar power will be roughly half of all new electric-generation additions in both Texas and the U.S. in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration.
May 08, 2024
Dallas Fed Economics
Texas economic activity expands modestly; labor market remains healthy
Texas economic activity expanded at a modest pace in April. While the manufacturing sector rebounded, the service sector slowed. Texas employment growth was moderate in the first quarter, slightly above the state’s roughly 2 percent long-run trend, and the unemployment rate held steady.
May 07, 2024
Southwest Economy
Texas high tech shakes off post-pandemic slump, readies new growth path
Texas is poised to lead in new advanced technologies, notably artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor manufacturing.
May 03, 2024
Growth stalls in Texas service sector while price pressures continue easing
Growth in Texas service sector activity slowed in April, according to business executives responding to the Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey. The revenue index, a key measure of state service sector conditions, fell from 4.0 to 0.3, with the near-zero reading suggestive of flat output growth.
April 29, 2024
Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey
Texas factory output strengthened slightly in April, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey.
April 29, 2024
Economic Indicators
Texas Economic Indicators
In March the Texas economy saw sluggish employment gains. Initial unemployment claims rose, and labor market tightness eased. The March Texas Business Outlook Surveys (TBOS) indicated upward price pressures for the rest of the year.
April 23, 2024
Texas Employment Forecast
The Texas Employment Forecast indicates jobs will increase 2.3 percent (329,400 jobs) in 2024, with an 80 percent confidence band of 1.7 to 3.0 percent.
April 19, 2024
Southwest Economy
Federal deficit, tax inequities, entitlement programs vie for lawmakers’ attention
Alan D. Viard, senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute and former senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, discusses federal entitlements and tax policy challenges during an era of rising deficits.
April 15, 2024
Working Paper
Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey: Survey Methodology, Performance and Forecast Accuracy
This paper describes the survey methodology and analyzes the explanatory and predictive power of TMOS indexes with regard to other measures of state economic activity.
March 28, 2024