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New businesses mean new jobs in Tarrant County — about 30,000 jobs to be exact.
According to a report commissioned by the University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC), startups a year old or less are responsible for creating 29,979 jobs in Tarrant County in 2019, paying almost $37,000 a year in wages, on average.
This ranks Tarrant County third in job creation (behind Dallas and Harris), compared to North Texas and large Texas counties. Tarrant County also ranks near the middle in average annual wages paid by new firms in these counties.
“We know that at a national level almost all net new job creation comes from young firms,” Dr. Robert McClain, associate vice president of HSC’s Division of Research and Innovation, said in a statement. “Though this seems like a very large number, it shouldn’t surprise us that new companies create this many jobs each year.”
The Fall 2021 Jobs Report is the work of Sparkyard — an entrepreneurial resource center operated by HSC, with support from the City of Fort Worth Economic Development Department and TCU Neeley School of Business. Sparkyard uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Workforce Indicators, which update annually, often leading to higher numbers than previously reported.
This is Sparkyard's second jobs report; the first, released in 2018, estimated 25,000 jobs created by new firms, but the 2021 report revised the figure up to nearly 28,000, fueled largely by the region’s population growth.
“It is our hope that this research shows our local policymakers and business leaders the importance of local startup activity to our economy,” McClain said. “We hope that information like this will help lead to better decisions about incentives and economic development decision making.”