Texas added 159,400 nonfarm payroll jobs from August 2025 to August 2026, the largest numerical gain of any state, while the state unemployment rate held at 4.4%, according to federal data released Friday.

The latest report presents a labor market that is still expanding, though more gradually than the annual headline might suggest. Texas employers added 5,600 jobs in August, bringing statewide nonfarm employment to 14,469,300, according to Texas Workforce Commission figures reported by the Midland Reporter-Telegram. That put the annual growth rate at 1.1%.

The 4.4% unemployment rate was unchanged from July and up from 4.2% a year earlier. The national rate was 4.1% in August, according to the U.S. employment report. Texas therefore combined nation-leading job gains in raw numbers with a jobless rate that remained above the national figure.

Those measures answer different questions. The payroll count comes from a survey of employers and records jobs where establishments are located. The unemployment rate is modeled largely from a household survey and measures people by where they live. The Bureau of Labor Statistics cautions that the two series should not be treated as if they measure the same population.

Texas also expanded its civilian labor force by 17,100 people during August to 15,932,600. Over the full year, however, the labor force increased by only 10,900, according to the statewide figures. That contrast suggests most of the recent labor-force movement occurred during the latest month, but preliminary monthly estimates can be revised.

The state’s size is important context for its national ranking. Federal statisticians found that only eight states posted statistically significant payroll gains over the year. Texas had the largest numerical increase, ahead of California’s 138,500 and North Carolina’s 65,600, while Louisiana, New Mexico and South Carolina posted the fastest percentage growth at 1.6%. Texas’ 1.1% annual rate was lower than those leaders.

The federal release also classified Texas’ August monthly change as statistically indistinguishable from zero. Only California, Wisconsin, South Carolina and New Mexico recorded significant one-month payroll gains. That does not erase Texas’ 5,600-job estimate; it means the change was small relative to the survey’s margin of error.

Conditions also differed sharply within Texas. Preliminary local figures ranged from 3.3% unemployment in the Midland metropolitan area to 7.1% in Eagle Pass. Midland added 4,100 jobs over the year, including 2,200 in mining, logging and construction, according to the regional breakdown. The Texas Workforce Commission’s labor-market portal provides the underlying state, industry and metropolitan series.

For policymakers and employers, the practical signal is mixed but not contradictory: statewide payrolls are higher than a year ago and Texas accounts for the largest absolute gain in the country, yet unemployment remains above the U.S. rate and local outcomes vary widely. The next state employment report, covering September, is scheduled for October 20.