On the presidential campaign trail, Gov. Rick Perry is touting the Texas’ relatively low unemployment rate. Here’s how the rate has changed during his decade in office. It wasn’t until 2007 that Texas’ jobs picture looked better than the country as a whole: 

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UPDATE: Following a reader’s suggestion, I added Texas’ neighboring states, who also have unemployment rates lower than the nation as a whole: 

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UPDATE: William M. Hartnett just posted his own viz to Twitter:

Texas unemployment rate compared to New York and Massachusetts, famously low-tax, low-regulation states: http://t.co/xgawHJT (via @stiles)

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