Jobs in Texas vs. California (the Lost Decade State)

Following up on a CD post yesterday about companies leaving California in record numbers, the chart above shows the difference in employment levels between California and Texas. While Texas employment was stable through the recession and is now 242,000 jobs above the December 2007 level, California lost jobs for 23 consecutive months starting in February 2008 and the September employment level is more than one million jobs below December 2007.  In every month since September 2009, the employment level in California has been below 16 million, which is back to the employment level of 2000, more than a decade ago.  In contrast, Texas employment is about 14% above the 2000 level.

Further evidence of companies and employees leaving California for better opportunities in prospering states like Texas is provided by the U-Haul rates for a one-way 26-foot truck rental:

 

Dallas to LA: $1,024

LA to Dallas: $1,762

Premium to leave California for Texas: 72.1%

Houston to LA: $892

LA to Houston: $1,884

Premium to leave California for Texas: 111.2%

  

Assuming that one-way U-Haul truck rental rates are based on relative demand, there are a lot more people and trucks leaving California for Texas than vice-versa, resulting in huge premiums to rent trucks going to Texas and large discounts for trucks going to California. 

Related: "The Long Stall: California’s jobs engine broke down well before the financial crisis," by Wendell Cox in City Journal and commentary at Coyote Blog.  (ht: morganovich)