When will Houston companies start hiring, and in which industries?
Employment in Houston is flat right now, Alemán said. And over the past several months, it’s even turned a little bit negative. “Things will get better slowly, but very slowly,” he said. While he expects the U.S. economy to muddle along for the next year or so, the Houston economy will do a little better because the energy business and Houston’s exports benefit when a weak dollar makes U.S. exports cheaper to overseas customers. Some energy companies are experiencing a shortage of skilled professionals like geologists and engineers, said Dian L. Chu, a financial market analyst in Houston who writes the energy blog Economic Forecasts & Opinions. Recruiters also are looking toward Texas to fill rig operating jobs in North Dakota and supply chain management positions in China, Chu said. Several energy-related manufacturing companies moved some of their operations to China, and they need experts to manage the planning and logistics of getting components and finished products back and forth
