NEW REPORT SHOWS TEXAS EXPORTS ARE CRITICAL TO U.S. JOBS
Goods Exports from Texas Supported More Than 1.1 Million Jobs in 2014
View United States of Trade Report
View Interactive Map with new state-by-state trade data
View specific state-by-state data set Jobs Supported by State Exports 2014 economic brief
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Commerce today released the Jobs Supported by State Exports 2014 economic brief indicating that goods exports from Texas supported 1,117,318 jobs in 2014 – an increase of 250,724 (28.9%) from 2009. Nationally, record exports of U.S. goods and services supported 11.7 million jobs in 2014.
“Texas companies of all sizes are exploring the benefits of exporting and introducing their world-class products to the 95 percent of consumers living outside U.S. borders,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan M. Selig. “The Department of Commerce is dedicated to helping these firms expand their exports while strengthening our economy and supporting jobs in communities across Texas and our nation.”
In February, Commerce reported that U.S. merchandise exports supported 7.1 million jobs nationally in 2014. Today’s brief shows that goods exports from Texas and the 20 other states whose exports supported more than 100,000 jobs accounted for 82 percent of the total jobs supported by goods exports.
Key merchandise export categories for Texas in 2014 included petroleum products; computer and electronic products; chemicals; machinery manufactures; and transportation equipment. Mexico, Canada, Brazil, China, and the Netherlands were the leading destinations for Texas goods exports the same year.
“Enacting President Obama’s trade agenda will open new markets to ‘Made in America’ goods, helping create even more jobs here at home,” Selig said.
To continue to create well-paying export-supported jobs, trade promotion authority (TPA) legislation needs to be enacted. For the past 40 years, TPA has guided both Democratic and Republican Presidents in pursuing trade agreements that support U.S. jobs, eliminate barriers to U.S. exports, and set rules to level the playing field for U.S. companies, farmers, ranchers and workers. TPA allows Congress to set high-standard objectives and priorities for U.S. trade negotiators and establishes a process for consulting with Congress and the public.
Texas is already benefiting from the free trade agreements that the U.S. has in force with 20 countries. More than $176.4 billion (61 percent) of Texas’s goods exports in 2014 went to free trade partners. Over the past 10 years (2005-2014), goods exports from Texas to these markets grew by 118 percent, with sales to Mexico, Canada, Colombia, and Korea showing the largest dollar growth over this period.
In the 2014 update of the Jobs Supported by State Exports report, the Department of Commerce employs an improved methodology that utilizes more timely source data.
For more information, please visit the Jobs Supported by State Exports 2014 economic brief.
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April 9, 2015