Y'all might've gotten your wires crossed.

Some dude named Samuel Weigley wrote a nice little list story (people love lists) about where the economy is bestest, regarding employment. Problem is, he tried to flesh out why these places are lowest in the unemployment figures. He lists Midland, TX as the metropolitan area with the sixth lowest rate of unemployment in the nation, and explains it thus:

> Oct. 2012 unemployment rate: 3.3% (tied for 6th)> Total population:140,308> Median household income: $54,330In October Midland’s unemployment rate was just 3.3% — exactly half the 6.6% unemployment rate in the state. This is a solid improvement from 12 months prior, when Midland already had the eighth-lowest unemployment rate in the country, at just 4.1%. According to the BLS, the mining, logging and construction industry was the top employment sector in the metropolitan area as of October, growing 6.3% from the prior year. In addition, Midland’s median household income of $54,330 in 2011 was nearly $5,000 higher than the median income of Texas.

 

 I can believe that construction would be going strong in the Midland-Odessa area. Although I'm surprised to hear of it, I won't discount the possibility of mining in or around Midland. But logging?

Here's a good representation of the miles and miles of miles and miles around Midland, TX:

Photo credit: AirPhotona.com
Oh, here's a shot of a stand of timber in Midland:

(Ripped from NOAA's site.)

Is it just that they haven't found any unemployed lumberjacks hanging out around Midland?