Houston, A Bright Spot In US Economy, Frets About Labor Shortage

HOUSTON, June 23 (Reuters) - Bustling Houston, one of the bright spots in the U.S. economy, is growing so fast that business leaders fear running out of skilled labor as billions are spent building new energy infrastructure on the Gulf Coast.
The Greater Houston Partnership, the business chamber for the 10-county region, on Monday launched a training plan with companies, junior colleges, high schools and social service agencies to prepare people for thousands of new jobs being created for welders, pipefitters and plumbers.
"Houston has had this incredible growth rate but the lack of skilled workers could slow us down," said Patrick Jankowski of the Greater Houston Partnership.
Of the top 20 metro areas, Houston's pace of job growth in the 12-months through May was the second-fastest in the country at 3.3 percent, behind only Dallas at 3.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Houston was the first major metro area to regain all the 153,000 jobs it lost in the Great Recession. Since January 2010, it has added 407,300 - more than double what it lost, Jankowski said.
The Houston economy grew 5.3 percent in 2012, trailing only San Francisco while outpacing the wider U.S. economy, according to the most recent data available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Many of the jobs being added in metropolitan Houston, which includes the refinery belt around Galveston Bay and part of the Texas coast, are well-paying "middle-skill" positions at new plants designed to process surging output of oil and natural gas from the U.S. shale boom.
12
View Full Article
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- Weatherford CEO's Rebound Plan Relies On Getting Smaller
- Iran Says Oil Market Is Too Tight For US Zero Exports Target
- China's Squeezed 'Teapots' Eye Petchem Path To Riches
- Baker Hughes: US Drillers Add Oil Rigs For Second Week In Three
- Venezuela Hands China More Oil Presence, But No Mention Of New Funds
- Governor Issues Disaster Declaration for Southeast Texas
- Exxon Building Largest Renewable Diesel Plant In Canada
- EU Considers Capping Russian Fuel Prices at $100
- World Still Waiting to See What China Reopening Means
- Former Brazilian Senator Takes Over Petrobras Helm
- Gasoline Price More Expensive Than Year Ago Levels
- Oil Traders Weigh Up Market This Week
- RWE-National Grid JV Submits Bid For New York State Wind Rights
- Petrobras Completes $1.6B Sale Of Albacora Leste Field To Petro Rio
- BSEE Checks Out Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project Progress
- Valaris Employee Reported Missing from Rig
- Is The USA Strategic Petroleum Reserve Stock Dangerously Low?
- How Will Russia's Oil and Gas Industry Fare in 2023?
- Oil and Gas Security Trends in 2023
- Fundamentals Strong Enough for $90+ Oil Period
- Police to Board Valaris Rig After Worker Reported Missing
- Texas Oil & Gas Industry Paid Record $24.7Bn In Taxes And Royalties
- USA Drops Rigs
- Risk Premium Embedded in USA NatGas Vanishes
- Texas O&G Sector Closes 2022 With Continued Employment Growth
- Valaris Employee Reported Missing from Rig
- Louisiana, Texas To Gain Thousands of Energy Jobs At Start of 2023
- Where Will WTI Oil Price Be at End 2023?
- Is the USA Shale Boom Over?
- Talos Makes Two Commercial Discoveries In Gulf Of Mexico
- Gasoline and Diesel Prices Expected to Fall
- Iran Oil Gushes Into Global Market
- Higher Oil Prices Have Not Led to More Exploration
- Will Oil Hit $100 Per Barrel in 2023?
- Shell Finds Gas In Pensacola High-Impact Well Off UK