Gas prices continue to fall and are about where they were in Feb. 2010. The graph below shows gas prices of regular gas in Austin, Texas and Los Angeles, California from December 1, 2004 to December 1, 2014.
Top 3 highest wage, sub-$100K STEM jobs in Texas
The top 3 STEM highest paying occupations in Texas are Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Engineers, all other, and Nurse Midwives and Nurse Practitioners.
| Occupation | Average Annual Wage |
| Electrical and Electronic Engineers | $99,888.89 |
| Engineers, all other | $98,285.71 |
| Nurse Midwives and Nurse Practitioners | $97,333.34 |
Our definition of STEM jobs: http://www.employstats.com/blog/2014/09/19/growing-national-interest-in-stem-fields-has-focused-our-research/
The data was pulled from the CPS (Current Population Survey) March.
Source: BLS
Image Source: http://www.coursetalk.com/coursera/fundamentals-of-electrical-engineering
California and Texas both saw decrease in job openings in September
California
California experienced a decrease of 102,075 job openings from September 2014 to October 2014, an 18.01% monthly decrease.
| Month | Total_Openings | Monthly_Change | Yearly_Change |
| Sep-14 | 464,759 | -18.01% | -2.91% |
| Aug-14 | 566,834 | -0.67% | 27.78% |
| Jul-14 | 570,648 | 6.01% | 27.68% |
| Jun-14 | 538,310 | 0.55% | 16.09% |
| May-14 | 535,368 | -5.24% | 20.85% |
| Apr-14 | 565,001 | 23.20% | 26.68% |
| Mar-14 | 458,591 | 2.14% | -2.59% |
| Feb-14 | 448,997 | -4.13% | 0.79% |
| Jan-14 | 468,361 | 20.57% | 11.64% |
| Dec-13 | 388,443 | -5.47% | -9.36% |
| Nov-13 | 410,918 | -14.15% | 16.93% |
| Oct-13 | 478,665 | 7.91% | 24.94% |
Texas
Texas experienced a decrease of 74,533 job openings from August 2014 to September 2014, a 20.46% monthly decrease.
| Month | Total_Openings | Monthly_Change | Yearly_Change |
| Sep-14 | 289,703 | -20.46% | -5.86% |
| Aug-14 | 364,236 | -1.23% | 27.59% |
| Jul-14 | 368,784 | 7.36% | 28.75% |
| Jun-14 | 343,517 | 0.21% | 14.99% |
| May-14 | 342,800 | -5.20% | 20.03% |
| Apr-14 | 361,597 | 22.06% | 25.80% |
| Mar-14 | 296,241 | 3.08% | -1.95% |
| Feb-14 | 287,386 | -5.31% | 1.30% |
| Jan-14 | 303,498 | 20.51% | 12.47% |
| Dec-13 | 251,841 | -4.38% | -8.61% |
| Nov-13 | 263,377 | -14.41% | 16.67% |
| Oct-13 | 307,730 | 7.80% | 25.44% |
Source: BLS
Texas and Eagle Ford Shale rig counts rise while US’ falls from September to October
The U.S. rig count was 1,929 in October 2014, down from 1,931 in September 2014; Texas rig count was 901 in October 2014, up from 896 in September 2014; The Eagle Ford Shale rig count was 211 in October 2014, up from 207 in September 2014.
Source:Baker Hughes
Top 3 occupations with the most new job openings in Texas for September
The top three occupations with the most new job openings in Texas for the month of August were derrick, rotary drill, and service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining with 106.69 new openings, ship and boat captains and operators with 69.60 new openings, and model makers and patternmakers, metal and plastic with 61.33 new openings.
September 2014
| Occupation | Total_Openings | New_Openings |
| model makers and patternmakers, metal and plastic | 601.70 | 61.33 |
| ship and boat captains and operators | 892.14 | 69.60 |
| derrick, rotary drill, and service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining | 4,527.39 | 106.69 |
Source: BLS
California RN’s, PA’s, and therapists see decrease in job openings from August to September
The number of job openings in California for nurses, therapists, and physician assistants decreased from 16,994 in August 2014 to 16,537 in September 2014. The searcher-to-job opening ratio also decreased from 1.90 to 1.24 in the same span.
Source: BLS
Image source: http://pediatric-nurse-practitioners.blogspot.com/2012/12/top-5-cardiac-care-nursing-jobs-for-we.html
California innovation job openings decreased from August to September
The number of job openings in California for “Innovation Type Jobs” decreased from 24,132 in August 2014 to 24,023 in September 2014. The searcher-to-job opening ratio also decreased from 1.06 to 0.90 in the same span.
Innovation jobs definition: http://www.employstats.com/blog/2014/09/26/1233/
Image source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/09/23/symposium-innovation-ecosystems-jobs-wea.html
California STEM job openings decreased from August to September
The number of job openings in California for STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) jobs decreased from 71,821 in August 2014 to 68,277 in September 2014. The searcher-to-job opening ratio also decreased from 1.57 to 1.22 in the same span.
Our definition of STEM jobs: http://www.employstats.com/blog/2014/09/19/growing-national-interest-in-stem-fields-has-focused-our-research/
Source: BLS
Image source: http://fairmountinc.com/help-wanted-1-2-million-good-paying-jobs-available/
Household services for males and females living in Mexico
Everyone knows that people do more than work for pay. In an injury or death case, it is common for plaintiffs to assert that they have been economically harmed because the injured or deceased person can no longer provide household services. Household services include activities such as mowing the lawn, taking care of the household, etc.
Below are some rough tabulations for the number of households services (in hours) performed for males and females residing in Mexico. The data is obtained from the Mexican Time Use Survey. Generally females spend substantially more time on household production activities.
For males:
| inside_hwork | 1.27 |
| foodprep | 2.95 |
| petandhome | 1.58 |
| hhmanagement | 1.08 |
| shopping | 1.18 |
| obtain_services | 0.05 |
| travel_hhactivity | 0.05 |
For females:
| inside_hwork | 12.91 |
| foodprep | 14.68 |
| petandhome | 1.55 |
| hhmanagement | 1.2 |
| shopping | 2.12 |
| obtain_services | 0.09 |
| travel_hhactivity | 0.17 |
Texas innovation job openings decreased from August to September
The number of job openings in Texas for “Innovation Type Jobs” decreased from 12,762 in August 2014 to 12,534 in September 2014. The searcher-to-job opening ratio also decreased from 0.94 to 0.75 in the same span.
Innovation jobs definition: http://www.employstats.com/blog/2014/09/26/1233/
Source: BLS
Image source: http://www.americas.gecapital.com/insight-and-ideas/capital-perspectives/innovation-secrets-of-steve-jobs