Texas is well-positioned to weather a potential national recession, Dallas Fed economist says

Construction in downtown Austin's warehouse district in 2017. Texas led the nation in new jobs last year, which could help it better weather an economic slowdown in 2023. (Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune)

After two years of fast economic growth, Texas is poised to see a “soft landing” in 2023, according to a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Texas has seen “mounting” signs of an economic slowdown in the last few months — such as slower inflation and job growth — even as the state led the country in job growth last year, labor economist Pia Orrenius said. Coming into 2023, there’s worry of an impending recession as the Federal Reserve tries to tame national inflation. Still, Texas is likely to see a 1.4% increase in job growth this year, though this figure could also go as high as 2.2% or as low as 0.7%.