The future of manufacturing has arrived, and with it comes doomsday predictions about how artificial intelligence and automation will transform the Texas workforce.

AI, smart-home technology, and other innovations have come to reality in quick succession over the past few years, transforming lives and businesses everywhere.

According to the most recent School District Strategies report, residential construction activity does not show any sign of letting up in Midlothian ISD.

The report indicates builders closed 216 new homes in the district during the third quarter of 2018. This represents the two consecutive quarters of record closings.

What do Douglas County, Ga., Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Mayes County, Okla., have in common? They all have school districts that have reaped the benefits of a Google data center in their respective communities.

Google has proven time and again that while it prefers keeping a low profile when setting up shop in communities, it does not hold back when it comes to technologically enhancing the lives of students.

As Texas continues to experience job growth and a record-low unemployment rate, it’s no wonder that businesses and prospective employees alike continue to flock to the region.

With an unemployment rate at 3.7 percent as of October, Texas — and specifically, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex — has enjoyed great private-sector employment gains over a breadth of industries.

In a recent Dallas Business Journal article of Dallas-Fort Worth’s 25 fastest growing cities per U.S. Census Bureau 2013-2017 population estimates, rising suburban star Midlothian ranked No. 8.

With a population jump from 20,497 in 2013 to 25,254 in 2017, Midlothian boasted an overall growth rate of 23.2 percent.

The days of high school diplomas serving as an adequate qualification for acquiring a job in manufacturing are long gone. Today’s manufacturers require

Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes job growth.

The Lone Star State has experienced annual employment growth for 27 consecutive months, according to the latest data from the Texas Workforce Commission. Meanwhile, the state's unemployment rate fell to a record low of 3.8 percent in August.

Despite a nationwide struggle to find strong labor supply for advanced manufacturing, Texas boasts an available workforce, a steady economy, and an outlook for continued growth.

Despite an overall positive year, thanks to a strong economy, a growing and persistent challenge is exasperating the manufacturing sector. The skilled labor shortage is intensifying, but technical education could be the answer.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs were added in September 2018, reaching 12.7 million jobs.

This year has been full of political, economic, and technological changes which are expected to continue impacting various industries into next year.

As such, it is critical to understand the site-selection trends that are impacting decisions, and how economic development strategies will adapt going into the new year.

As we enter the fourth quarter, we evaluated the successes of these trends in 2018, and expectations for 2019.