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The Greater Houston Partnership has released its jobs forecast for 2015. The partnership estimates that the Houston metropolitan area will add 62,900 jobs in 2015, but with oil prices continuing to fall, researchers say the energy sector could see lower profits and eventually layoffs.
Robert Drummond is with the Houston-based oilfield services company Schlumberger. He says he isn’t worried because oil prices have always been cyclical.
“We have been spoiled, I would say, by the last four years of stability,” Drummond says. “It’s not over yet. It’s just a process that we go through. We know how to do it very well.”
Industry leaders say another major challenge in the coming year is developing the workforce. Representatives from healthcare, finance and construction say they’re facing a shortage of skilled workers.
“Our skilled craftspeople are retiring, and there’s not a younger generation taking its place,” says Laura Bellows with the WS Bellows Construction Corporation.
Bellows says she wants to reach out to more students to educate them about viable career opportunities in construction.
Below is the GHP 2015 Houston Employment Forecast