Dallas-Fort Worth faces similar headwinds as the broader economy, but is showing similar resilience as tariffs upend expectations for growth this year.
The Labor Department reported on Friday that the U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs in April, a better-than-expected figure given how newly implemented tariffs have undermined confidence and scrambled the business outlook. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%, which helped spark a brisk rally in volatile markets.
From Main Street to Wall Street, economists and businesses are warning about the storm clouds gathering from tariffs that may dampen job creation and business activity later this year.
At least momentarily — and particularly in the booming D-FW — businesses are still finding a need for more workers with the region’s nonfarm payrolls growth outpacing Texas and the U.S. as a whole, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures.
The Lone Star State’s economy added over 26,000 jobs during the month, hitting a record high in total jobs and the size of the civilian workforce, with the lion’s share of civilian jobs concentrated in D-FW and Houston.
Month over month, sectors like construction, leisure/hospitality and the red-hot financial services sector led the way in percentage growth, Texas data showed. Along with technology powered by demand for artificial intelligence and data centers, finance is becoming a bigger part of the Metroplex’s growth story.
Retirement and wealth management giant TIAA, a major presence in the northeast, recently opened a new facility in Frisco, in a bid to expand its presence in a region that’s become integral to the “Texas Miracle” of growth and job creation.
“TIAA has a strong presence in DFW, and we are excited to continue growing in Frisco … as we provide our associates with a state-of-the-art space that inspires greater collaboration and opportunities for connection,” David Nason, CEO of TIAA Wealth Management and Advice Solutions, told The Dallas Morning News in an email.
“We are coming up on 40 years in DFW and expect the deep pool of financial services talent in the Dallas area will help us deliver on our mission of bringing a secure retirement to more people for years to come,” he added.
Still, the D-FW hasn’t been entirely immune to bad news, with layoff notices quietly ticking higher in 2025, and regional power players like Southwest and L3Harris announcing targeted cutbacks.
Separately, the BLS notes that wages and salaries in Dallas and Houston rose at a significantly faster pace than the rest of the nation in March — a key indicator that often presages higher prices and cost-of-living expenses.
And the retail sector, in the crosshairs of higher tariffs that have locked the U.S. and China in a stalemate, is shuttering storefronts around the country, with a growing number of those hitting North Texas.
