Houston's 2007 job growth much higher than thought

[MontroseNeighborhood]

March 6, 2008, 12:52PM
Houston's 2007 job growth much higher than thought
Revision of earlier estimate finds city added 100,000 positions last year

By L.M. SIXEL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

The final tally is in and the Houston economy is growing much faster than anyone realized.

It turns out that the local economy ended 2007 by creating 100,100 new jobs during the year, an increase of 4 percent, according to data released Thursday by the Texas Workforce Commission.

Earlier this year, the agency estimated the Houston area added 59,800 new jobs for the full year, a 2.4 percent increase.

Houston already was one of the top job-creating cities in the United States before the numbers were revised, said Cheryl Abbot, regional economist for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Dallas.

Of the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Houston was first in job growth in the previously released data. BLS won't release the nationwide revisions until next week, so it's unclear whether Houston's rank will change.

Once each year, the Texas Workforce Commission compares its employment estimates with payroll tax reports from companies to determine the number of people actually employed in the state. The agency's monthly employment reports are only estimates.

[ATXboom]

That is crazy growth...

[Trae]

Amazing job growth in Houston.

[austlar1]

All you have to do is spend some time in the Galleria area on a weekend, day or night, to realize that Houston is simply awash in money right now. Bottom line is that the energy sector is still the dominant economic force in Houston,and energy is where it is at right now. I think the place may be able to ride out the coming recession without too much difficulty, just like it did back in the mid-1970's.

[JAM]

Originally Posted by austlar1

All you have to do is spend some time in the Galleria area on a weekend, day or night, to realize that Houston is simply awash in money right now. Bottom line is that the energy sector is still the dominant economic force in Houston,and energy is where it is at right now. I think the place may be able to ride out the coming recession without too much difficulty, just like it did back in the mid-1970's.

Houston rode out the tech bust pretty well too.

[Trae]

During the Tech Bust, Houston's economy was the only one in Texas (out of the main four metro areas), to actually grow by large amounts.

[JAM]

Originally Posted by Trae

During the Tech Bust, Houston's economy was the only one in Texas (out of the main four metro areas), to actually grow by large amounts.

I didn't know that. Do you have data to share? I had apartments in Midtown Houston and Uptown Dallas at the time spending about half my time in each city and was in the process of opening a business in Austin. Man, you could certainly feel the tech reck in Dallas and Austin - both were in sorry shape. On the other hand, Houston just seemed to quiet down a bit. Felt like everyone was sort holding their breath hoping it didn't hit home.

Was relatively easy to get a contractor in Austin to do some work at that time. Give it up now, you're at their mercy!

[austlar1]

The reason I compare today's Houston to the mid-70's is that back then oil prices were at an historic high, and Houston, just like today, was a major beneficiary of the situation. At the same time the country as a whole was enduring one of the worst recessions of the post WW II era, and I have a feeling that we are headed into a similar, if not worse, scenario right now.
If energy prices and profits stay high and exploration continues at a fever pitch, Houston should be sitting pretty. Things did take a grim turn in Houston towards the end of the 70's after energy prices tanked and the hangover from the real estate building boom began to be felt well into the 1980's. At least this time around there should not be a collapse of Texas financial institutions, since so few survived this earlier crunch which was the result of too much speculative lending in energy and real estate.

[Trae]

Originally Posted by JAM

I didn't know that. Do you have data to share? I had apartments in Midtown Houston and Uptown Dallas at the time spending about half my time in each city and was in the process of opening a business in Austin. Man, you could certainly feel the tech reck in Dallas and Austin - both were in sorry shape. On the other hand, Houston just seemed to quiet down a bit. Felt like everyone was sort holding their breath hoping it didn't hit home.

Was relatively easy to get a contractor in Austin to do some work at that time. Give it up now, you're at their mercy!

This was a graph that came out not too long ago: