Latest news with #SmallBusinessFreedomCouncil
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Abbott signs 5 laws in favor of Texas small businesses
AUSTIN, Texas (KETK) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed five bills into law on Thursday to support Texas small businesses by improving the process of starting a business and cutting regulations. Gov. Abbott deploys thousands of soldiers to manage planned immigration protests in Texas The following pieces of legislation passed during the 89th Regular Legislative Session and have been signed into law by Abbott: House Joint Resolution 1 House Bill 9 House Bill 346 House Bill 2464 House Bill 5195 The governor's office said each of these bills serve their own purpose within small business, like House Bill 5195 which requires each state agency to assess their website and online services to improve the user experience. This also includes House Bill 2464 which relates to regulation changes for home based businesses. These laws are linked with the Texas economy and Abbott's Small Business Freedom Council that is aimed at recognizing and cutting 'unnecessary' government regulations that Abbott said could hinder Texas small business operations. State Rep. Trent Ashby announces reelection campaign 'The Texas economy is better than ever before,' Abbott said. 'This session, we took strategic steps to boost small businesses in Texas. Even the smallest of barriers can increase the cost of doing business. We want to make it easier and less costly for businesses in Texas, especially our small business owners.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas keeps on growing: Lone Star State sees another month of record job growth
Texas faced exponential growth in 2023 and 2024, and those trends aren't slowing down as the Lone Star State sees another month of record employment numbers. In March, Texas saw a new high with the largest labor force in the state's history at 15,778,500, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Texas Workforce Commission. According to the data, Texas saw a new high of 15,137,500 for Texans working. This number includes those who are self-employed. The state also added 26,500 nonfarm jobs last month, reaching a new total high of 14,282,600. Between March 2024 and March 2025, the state added 192,100 nonfarm jobs, which was more than any other state. As of January employment data, the annual nonfarm growth rate in Texas is 1.3%. "Every month, Texas welcomes businesses from across the country and around the world to innovate and invest in our great state," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a release Friday about the data. "By funding our schools more than ever before and expanding career and technical training programs, we will prepare more Texans for better job and bigger paycheck opportunities to build a more prosperous Texas.' Job creation, workforce development and education have been major efforts pushed by Abbott this legislative session. Last month, he released a five-year statewide economic development strategic plan outlining a blueprint for economic expansion and job creation. The "Bigger. Better. Texas." plan has four main goals: Establishes a unifying vision for the future of our Texas economy Identifies new target industry sectors and clusters expected to drive strategic economic growth and job creation Outlines objectives and initiatives to advance the state's global competitiveness Provides data and recommendations to inform economic development decisions across the state To support additional job creation and small businesses in Texas, Abbott also created the Governor's Small Business Freedom Council in December. This month, he announced more than $1.3 million in job training grants to Collin County Community College District for programs in health care, accounting, manufacturing and other high-demand occupations. House Bill 20 and House Bill 120, two bills part of Abbott's career training expansion efforts that was one of his seven emergency items this legislative session, advanced out of the Texas House last week. Texas saw rapid job growth in 2023 and 2024 as well. A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas looking at the outlook of Texas' economy in 2025 said Texas' energy, financial services and construction industries were the fastest-growing job sectors last year, growing 5.5%, 5.1% and 3.1%, respectively. Overall, job growth rose 1.7% lower than initial projections expected in 2024. Texas added 284,200 jobs from December 2023 to December 2024, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas sees largest labor force in state history in March
