A year ago, Hurricane Harvey became the costliest storm on record. Parker Harvey with Workforce Solutions says Houston was ready to work almost immediately. ”The negative impact Harvey had on Houston area businesses was relatively short-lived. The combined average of time businesses were closed was only five days.”
And people went back to work in droves. “Actual job losses after the storm were only 6,000 jobs. But October and November we saw a sharp re-bound. In fact, they were the best October and November we have on record! Gains were mostly in construction and retail. Retail because so many people lost so many things they had to shop for new stuff. ” he said.
Mr. Harvey also says construction and retail employment continue to build. “When you combine the storm, solid oil prices and a good national economy, 2018 is going to end of a pretty strong note.”
He says our job growth is beyond estimated expectations and some of that is still due to the hurricane. “I have heard anecdotally that there are groups of people who are finally getting contractors into their homes.”
Also in the mix are Trade, Transportation and Utilities. And Mr. Harvey says it will be interesting to see how the outcome of the current bond election will influence the job market as well.