The Greater Houston area and Texas as a whole are doing better economically than other areas of the nation according to a new report from the Perryman Group.
The Perryman Group is a Waco-based economic analysis firm led by Ray Perryman, the President and CEO. Perryman as been studying the Texas economy for decades. He said recent economic growth aligns well with his predictions despite persistent rumors of a recession.
"I've been saying for the last eight or nine months I thought there was less than a 40 percent chance we'd have a recession. I still think that," he said. "And I think as we get further into the year, people are beginning to realize more and more there was a lot of underlying, blatant strength in the economy."
Researchers from the Perryman Group project around 318,400 thousand jobs will be added in the Greater Houston area by 2027. However, Perryman said inflation has definitely taken its toll on some industries, including housing and commercial real estate.
"There's some commercial real estate loans, commercial banks that may create some stress in the system," he said. "So there are some risks out there, I don't want to minimize them. But on the whole I think the strengths outweigh the risks."
Perryman said the energy, life science, and aerospace industries that Houston is known for are still growing.
"The energy sector is changing but still growing. The life sciences is one of the fastest-growing industries in the countries right now and Houston is a riddled center for that,” he said. “And the aerospace industry. It's always been important to Houston since NASA coming there."
As for Texas, Perryman's research indicated the state would see 1.3 million net new jobs by 2027.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a positive outlook for the job market in the Houston area on their April report as well. The city saw a 3.5 percent local rate of job gain, compared to the 2.6 percent national increase.
