Bloomberg View: The Texas-Size Wage Gap; a Nafta Milestone

Texas created almost 250,000 jobs in the past two years, nearly as many as the other 49 states combined. State leaders, including Governor Rick Perry, credit that success to low taxes and a business-friendly regulatory approach. But to a sizable degree, its booming payrolls are the result of hard-to-duplicate factors. Texas is one of the youngest U.S. states, with a median age of 33, almost four years below the national average. That means it is blessed with a consumption-driven economy, full of young adults renting their first apartments. As families expand, their needs create thousands of jobs in retailing and manufacturing.

In high-skill professions, such as management and petroleum engineering, Texas salaries often exceed national norms. It’s a different story for unskilled labor and service employees. Dishwashers in Texas averaged $7.90 an hour in 2009, 10.3 percent below their peers nationwide. Texas sewing-machine operators made do with $9.35 an hour, 12.6 percent below the 50-state average. Some 9.5 percent of hourly workers subsist at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That leaves Texas tied for the largest share of the population earning no more than the minimum wage.