The latest quarterly report form the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shows that the robust economic growth that Texas has experienced for the past year in finally beginning to trickle down to workers in the form of higher wages, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
“On the service sector front, we have 26.6 percent of respondents saying they have raised wages in the past month, which is an all time high,” Dallas Fed economist Jason Saving said.
He says the revival of the oil and gas industry as prices go up, as well as the generally bullish job market Texas has seen for a while, led to 3.4% job growth statewide in the first quarter of 2018.
“The headline indexes of our Texas business outlook surveys are well above their long run post-recession averages,” Saving said. “This suggests that the growth in the state is both strong, and broad based across sectors.”
He says the job growth so far in 2018 is shaping up to the strongest since 2014, during the last oil boom.He says San Antonio’s job growth, however, weakened in the first quarter, likely due to ‘moderating effects following a strong surge in post-Hurricane Harvey leisure and hospitality hiring.
’But Saving says the fact that higher wages are being paid to workers is resulting in price pressures on businesses, particularly for manufacturers.
“Wage pressures also remain high, reflecting the state’s tight labor market,” he said.