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Dear Texas Economic Development Stakeholders,
As we reach the end of Hispanic Heritage Month in Texas (September 15 - October 15, 2021), we thank the many Hispanic Texans across the state that have inspired success in business and beyond. Hispanic business owners and entrepreneurs have supported Texas' leadership as a top job creator in the country. In fact, Texas is the #1 state for jobs created by Hispanic women business owners and also a top state for jobs created by all Hispanic business owners. Texas is also home to many of the nation’s top cities for Hispanic business-friendliness, according to WalletHub.
I am proud to serve as the first Hispanic Executive Director of the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, within the Office of the Governor, as we continue to keep Texas one of the most welcoming states for Hispanic entrepreneurs. I invite you to learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month in Texas, by visiting the blog of Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott, who made history by becoming the first Hispanic First Lady of Texas.
This issue of the Texas Business Bulletin will offer an overview of the advancing biotech and life sciences industry in Texas and an update on the state's latest population growth data. You'll also find recent project announcements, upcoming events, meet our newest team members, and much more! As always, we welcome you to visit our website, follow us on social media, or reach out to a member of our team if we can be of any assistance.
Thanks for all you do for the great state of Texas!
-Adriana Cruz, Executive Director, Texas Economic Development & Tourism
 August Economic Information
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%
Nonagricultural Jobs Added Over the Month: 39,300
Private Jobs Added Over the Month: 37,500
  Texas is a leading hub for research, education and innovation in biotechnology and life sciences. Multiple Fortune 500 life sciences companies are headquartered in Texas, including Kimberly-Clark, Celanese, Tenet Healthcare and McKesson. Other industry leaders such as Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Galderma also have significant operations in the state. In total, there are more than 5,500 life sciences and research firms in Texas, supporting a workforce of more than 98,000.
With seven of the nation's top 100 medical schools, and a rapidly expanding higher education network, the Lone Star State is ranked top-tier for biotech-related doctorates. Our state's world-class universities and medical institutions have made Texas a premier environment for pharmaceuticals, biomedicine, medical device manufacturing, laboratory testing, research and development and more. Successful public-private partnerships and supportive public policy have put Texas in the spotlight for our cancer research initiatives. The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) is the largest taxpayer-funded cancer research organization in the country, with more than $6 billion dedicated to research grants.
The Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston is the largest medical complex is the world. TMC is a collaboration between hospitals, universities and business. In August, TMC announced the launch of TMC3, a 37-acre campus designed to bring together the best minds in medicine and commercialization to foster collaboration. Once the expansion of TMC is complete, the state of Texas will benefit from an ongoing annual economic impact of more than $5.4 billion each year, in addition to the creation of 23,000 new jobs in Harris County.
As Texas continues to lead the way in research and development, ranking as the top state for clinical trials, we will continue to push this industry forward into the new frontier of medicine and innovation. For more information on biotech and life sciences in Texas, check out our industry snapshot.
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Industry Snapshot: Manufacturing
"Made in Texas" is a powerful global brand and the state's incredibly diverse economy has supported strong manufacturing activity across a variety of industry sectors. Check out our newest industry snapshot for more on manufacturing in Texas!
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Our office continues to develop new materials highlighting the Lone Star State's best assets in various industry sectors. Check out these and other Reports & Publications on our website.
New Staff Spotlight
Stephanie Mazurkiewicz has joined the Business & Community Development Team as a Project Development Specialist. Stephanie has worked previously as an Economic Development Specialist for the Buda Economic Development Corporation and the City of Hutto. Prior to these roles, she was Finance Specialist in the Office of the Governor, Economic Development Bank where she assisted with programs such as the Product Development & Small Business Incubator Fund and the Events Trust Funds. She also previously spent time with Rodeo Austin where she served as the Competitions Coordinator and managed all youth competitive events throughout the year. Stephanie received her Bachelor’s Degree in AgriBusiness and Agricultural Economics as well as her Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University. In her spare time, she enjoys raising show cattle with her family, riding her horse Mr. Pickles, and spending time with her dogs Lady and her beloved rescue dog, Dexter.
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Brice Corkill has joined the Business & Community Development Team as a Project Development Specialist. Previously, Brice taught a variety of grade levels and subjects including kindergarten, 3rd and 4th grade science and social studies, and 6th grade math. During his summers away from the classroom, Brice worked in interior Alaska for a utility company installing fiber optic cables in remote areas in the Arctic Circle. After five years as an educator, Brice began work at the Texas Capitol as a legislative aide for Representative Matthew Krause. This transition led him to the Scheduling & Advance Office for the Office of the Governor and then to the role of Executive Aide to the Governor. Brice has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Liberty University in Virginia. He is a native Alaskan, but has called Texas home for the last three years. Brice resides in South Austin with his wife Caitriana, who is a lawyer in the Texas Senate, and their three bulldogs Beau, Brie, and Elvis.
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  EDT Executive Director, Adriana Cruz attended the AW Texas Grand Opening in Cibolo, Texas.
Not only does Texas offer the best business climates in the nation, a highly skilled and diverse workforce, lower operating costs, and pro-growth economic policies, but the state also has one of the most robust incentive program portfolios. In particular, the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) continues to assist in attracting expanding and relocating companies to Texas. TEF is a performance-based financial incentive for projects that offer significant projected job creation and capital investment and where a single Texas site is competing with another viable out-of-state option. For more on TEF and other incentives offered by the State of Texas, visit our website. Here are some of our recently announced projects, including recent TEF awards:
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Leprino Foods in Lubbock: Leprino Foods will establish a new dairy products manufacturing facility in Lubbock. The project is expected to create 600 new jobs and nearly $870 million in capital investment. A Texas Enterprise Fund grant of $4.2 million has been extended to the company.
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Knauf Insulation in McGregor: Knauf Insulation will establish their new manufacturing and distribution facility in McGregor, creating 151 jobs and more than $210 in capital investment. The company has been extended a Texas Enterprise Fund grant of $819,175.
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Bluebonnet Nutrition in Sugar Land: Bluebonnet Nutrition announced the expansion of their operations in Texas with a third location in Sugar Land. The facility is expected to create $18 million in capital investment and 200 new jobs
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Gatik in Fort Worth: Gatik announced new Fort Worth operations, which are expected to create more than 500 new jobs by 2025, including operational, technical and business jobs. Gatik has teamed up with the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone to develop autonomous vehicle technology.
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Primal Pet Group in Abilene: Primal Pet Group broke ground on their new $31.6 million plant expansion in the Five Points Business Park in Abilene. The project is expected to create and retain more than 250 jobs.
Texas: The U.S. Growth Leader
Texas added more people than any other state in the U.S. over the last decade, adding nearly 4 million people since 2010 (source). Texas counties represent a majority of the top 20 counties nationally that have experienced significant population growth, including eight of the top counties by numeric change and six of the top counties by percent change in population (source). Texas has one of the youngest populations, ranking third behind Idaho and Utah for total population under 18 at more than 7 million, or 25% of the population (source). While the U.S. has experienced a 1.4% decline in population under 18, Texas has grown by more than 400,000, or 6%.
Texans of color account for 95% of the state’s population growth (source). Nearly 50% of growth can be attributed to the growth of Hispanic Texans (source). The top five most diverse Texas counties are Fort Bend, Dallas, Bell, Jefferson and Harris. Here are some additional stats on Texas' continued population growth:
- Among U.S. cities with a population of at least 100,000 in 2020, Frisco, Texas, had by far the most explosive growth, with a 79.5% total increase since 2010 — 18% higher than the next fastest-growing city (source).
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Texas is home to 9 of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the U.S. by percentage population growth between 2010 and 2020: Frisco, McKinney, Sugar Land, Round Rock, Pearland, Edinburg, Midland, Denton and League City (source).
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Five of the 10 fastest-growing cities in the U.S. by raw population are in Texas: San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Fort Worth and Dallas (source).
- The latest data shows that 111 of the 254 counties in Texas gained in population since 2010 (source).
- The fastest growing Texas counties by percent growth are: Hays, Comal, Williamson, Kaufman and Fort Bend (source).
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The fastest growing Texas counties by raw population increase are: Harris, Tarrant, Bexar, Collin and Travis (source).
Not only is Texas growing in population, but it is also growing in terms of new businesses. In 2020, Texas ranked third, only behind Florida and California, for new business applications with more than 384,000 new applications (source). For more on why Texas continues to be the fastest growing state in the nation and a popular place to start a business, visit our website: gov.texas.gov/business
 “It ain’t bragging if it's true!” Here are some of the recent accolades Texas has received:
At the end of July, the U.S. Economic Development Agency announced new programs designed to help communities accelerate economic recovery. The $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge is designed to assist communities by accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Texas regions and communities are encouraged to apply to help build resiliency for local economies. The application deadline is October 19, 2021, and questions about the program may be directed to BuildBackBetter@eda.gov.
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The U.S. added more new energy capacity from wind than any other source last year, thanks to the nation's leader in wind capacity—Texas. Construction for wind energy in the Lone State hit an all-time high in 2020. With total capacity standing at 32,686 megawatts, nearly 20% of the state's electricity now comes from wind.
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The University of Texas at El Paso and UT Austin are two of 11 universities chosen to join the U.S. Space Force’s University Partnership Program in fiscal year 2021. Selected for their STEM degree offerings and space-related research labs and initiatives, the universities will assist with personnel and industry development for the Space Force.
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New partnerships will place Brownsville at the center of sustainable vertical lift-off and landing technologies (VTOL) and will provide education and job training to help develop this new industry. The partners include Paragon VTOL Aerospace, Rolls Royce, S&C Electric, ARUP, Texas Southmost College, the City of Brownsville and Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation.
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