Jobs

Gov. Perry has made job creation a key focus of his administration, and employment in Texas has soared to all-time highs. Our business climate is ranked the best in America, we are the number one exporting state in the country and in 2004 Texas landed more job expansion and relocations than any other state. Our economy is growing at a tremendous pace because Gov. Perry has worked to create a climate that welcomes the entrepreneurial spirit and every employer who seeks to create new jobs for our people.

For more information about Economic Devolpment in Texas, please visit the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Tourism

Workers' Compensation Reform

Gov. Perry signed major reforms to the workers' comp system that will lead to lower costs for employers and improved care for injured workers. Prior to these reforms, the old system was stifling economic growth by forcing employers to pay some of the highest costs in the nation while doing little to help injured workers return to the job. The reforms signed by Perry in 2005 will improve benefits and care for injured workers, and ultimately free more employer resources for expansion and job creation.
Read More about Workers' Compensation Reform

Lawsuit Reform

Rick Perry has been a long-time proponent of lawsuit reform because frivolous lawsuits are one the top job killers in America. In 2005, Perry signed a law cracking down on junk asbestos claims that were forcing innocent employers into bankruptcy and putting thousands of people out of work. He also signed a law to prevent trial lawyers from targeting the fast food industry on behalf of clients who have obesity-related health problems.

In 2003, Gov. Perry led the effort to pass sweeping lawsuit reforms so that innocent employers could put their money into job growth instead of the pockets of trial lawyers. A leading economist projected that 240,000 new jobs will eventually be created as a result of these reforms.

Texas Enterprise Fund

The Texas Enterprise Fund has earned a reputation as the most aggressive and successful job creation tool in America since Perry proposed its creation in 2003. Perry has used the Enterprise Fund to seal the deal on projects that will bring tens of thousands of new jobs to Texas and add more than $6 billion to our economy. Among the Enterprise Fund's biggest successes: the largest capital investment in the nation for 2003, the largest job announcement nationwide for 2004, and the largest single job creation project in America for the first five months of 2005. Perry convinced lawmakers to reauthorize the Fund in 2005.
Read More about The Texas Enterprise Fund

Emerging Technology Fund

In 2005, Perry secured $200 million to help Texas attract growth in high-tech fields like biomedicine and nanotechnology. The new Emerging Technology fund will help Texas attract the world's best scientists and researchers to our universities, attract thousands of high-tech jobs and help start-up companies get their inventions out of the lab and into the hands of consumers sooner.
Read More about The Emerging Technology Fund