Employment growth often fuels strong housing markets, and if that holds true, Texas will be booming in more ways than just one.
Employment is flooding into the Lone Star State and shows no signs of slowing. About 413,000 jobs have been added in Texas in the last 12 months. The state, which is experiencing a thriving energy and oil sector, is expected to have the nation's fastest annual job growth rate, at 2.7 percent, over the next five years, according to data from Moody's Analytics. Texas boasts 118 of the largest companies in the U.S.
North Dakota is also seeing a dramatic rise in its labor market, with job growth forecast at 2.6 percent a year through 2018.
Jobs and income growth are key to a strong performance in the housing recovery in 2014, Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said earlier this year. Indeed, economists at the National Association of Home Builders say that income growth is a key metric to watch for the future of new- and existing-home sales.
Forbes.com, using Moody's Analytics data, ranked the best states for job growth:
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Texas
Projected annual job growth: 2.7%
Unemployment rate: 5.2% -
North Dakota
Projected annual job growth: 2.6%
Unemployment rate: 2.8% -
Nevada
Projected annual job growth: 2.6%
Unemployment rate: 7.3% -
Florida
Projected annual job growth: 2.5%
Unemployment rate: 6.1% -
Arizona
Projected annual job growth: 2.5%
Unemployment rate: 6.9% -
Colorado
Projected annual job growth: 2.5%
Unemployment rate: 4.7%
