The Texas Workforce Commission marked Labor Day by recognizing the 15.9 million workers it credits with powering the state’s economy, the agency said in a Sept. 7 news release.
Those workers support more than 680,000 employers and have helped Texas become the eighth largest economy in the world, according to the commission. The agency pointed to low unemployment and the presence of five of the nation’s largest cities as reasons Texas continues to draw people who want to live, work and do business in the state.
“Labor Day is an opportunity to thank and honor the millions of Texans who make our state a global powerhouse,” said TWC Executive Director Steve Pier. “Businesses from all over the world relocate to Texas because of our world-class workforce. We are dedicated to supporting a workforce system that offers employers, families, individuals, and communities the opportunity to achieve and sustain economic prosperity.”
The release also marked the anniversary of the agency’s creation in 1996, when the Texas Legislature consolidated education and workforce services from 28 separate programs administered by 10 state agencies into a single system powered by local workforce development boards. The commission said that structure directly influenced the establishment of the workforce system used nationwide today.
The state has changed considerably in the three decades since. The commission said Texas has grown from 19.3 million residents in 1996 to more than 32.1 million today, and the civilian labor force has expanded by more than 63 percent over the same period.
The agency’s portfolio has widened as well. Two decades after its creation, the commission integrated Vocational Rehabilitation services, which supported more than 71,000 Texans with disabilities last year, according to the release. Working parents who received the agency’s child care services earned more than $2.7 billion in wages over the past year, the commission said, and its continuing work with the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has expanded skills training and credentialing for students preparing to enter the workforce.
The commission said it will keep expanding services and modernizing its systems as the state’s economy evolves. Texans looking for a new career or exploring training options can contact one of the 28 local workforce development boards through a Workforce Solutions office, the agency said.