Not that long ago Houston was the job creation engine driving a surging Texas economy. A lagging oil industry has changed all that.
“So,” says Rice University professor John Diamond, “when oil prices are down and job creation in the oil industry is lagging, then we're going to lag other cities.”
Diamond is the Kelly Fellow of Public Finance at the Baker Institute. He says the local economy is more diverse now, so the down cycles don't hurt as much, “The good news is, the roller-coaster is not as steep, on its way up or on its way down, as it used to be.”
The Gallup Job Creation Index puts Houston 50th among the nation's top 50 cities for 2016.