BY CHRISTOPHER SLIJK AND KEITH PHILLIPS

The Texas economy continues to expand at a steady pace as payroll employment rebounds strongly in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The Texas Business Outlook Surveys suggest continued growth in the state’s manufacturing and service sectors. Early benchmark data for job growth in the first half of the year was revised down slightly from an annualized pace of 3.0 percent to 2.6 per-cent. When incorporating this data and adjusting for the hurricane effects, the Texas Employment Forecast projects 2.4 percent growth this year, slightly below the previous estimate of 2.6 percent. Job growth in 2018 is expected to stay on a similar pace and above the state’s long-term trend of 2.1 percent.

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