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Construction of Petrochemical Plants to Offset Houston’s Job Losses
Encouraged by low commodity prices, the construction of new petrochemical plants will provide much needed job opportunities for laid off oil and gas workers. This will provide a much needed relief for job seekers to find paying jobs, until the crude oil prices stabilize and recover.
Jordan Blum said in a recent article:
“The construction of new petrochemical plants, which are benefiting from cheap commodity prices, will offset much of the Houston area’s job losses and give oil prices more time to rebound, wrote Bill Gilmer, who directs the Bauer Institute for Regional Forecasting at UH.”
Economist Revises Job Estimates; Claims 13,000 Jobs Will Be Created In Houston
While Bill Gilmer had earlier estimated the creation of 40,000 jobs in Houston in the beginning of the year, he has now revised the estimate, due to widespread layoffs in the oil and gas industry. The number of oil rigs that have de-commissioned or closed down over the past one year is roughly half the total number of rigs that were in operation last year.
Nancy Sarnoff said in a recent article:
“Gilmer expects there will be as few as 13,000 jobs created in 2015. That’s down considerably from the 40,000 he predicted earlier in the year.”
Gilmer went on to predict that east Houston will see an up stick in job growth and shine, when compared to the rest of Houston, owing to increase in construction activity. Oil prices will see a complete recovery in the year 2017, it was predicted. However, the impact on Houston economy is certain and the repercussions of this crude oil crisis is likely to be seen going forward in the next year.
The number of jobs that are estimated to be created in Houston is about 13,000, which indicates the adverse impact on the Houston job situation. In this scenario, the petrochemical industry offers a silver lining in the form of new construction jobs. This is expected to offer a little respite from the difficult economic conditions present in Houston.