According to Real Estate Center at Texas A&M:
Texas had matched its prerecession nonfarm employment peak by the end of 2011, a period of only three years. The U.S. took seven years, attaining parity in 2014.
The general thought is that a boom in oil and gas activity occurred at just the right time to carry Texas through the recession. That is indeed part of the story, but head-to-head data comparisons reveal that Texas has been at a comparative advantage for some time.