Opinion

Houston's economy is moving forward again

Aerial view of the downtown Houston skyline Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009, in ( Smiley N. Pool / Chronicle ) Aerial view of the downtown Houston skyline Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009, in ( Smiley N. Pool / Chronicle ) Photo: Smiley N. Pool Photo: Smiley N. Pool Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Houston's economy is moving forward again 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

It is one thing to turn a motor boat and an entirely different thing to turn the Queen Mary.

In 2011, the nation's fourth largest city did just that, by stemming the tide of a still-struggling U.S. and global economy. Our vast economy performed at record levels, powering our region on a trajectory to grow jobs, trade and capital investment against the backdrop of a smaller national economy.

Houston was the last major city to enter the recession and the first one out of the recession. Indeed, the Houston region added nearly 80,000 jobs in the 12-month period ending in October 2011 - marking its sixth-highest annual job growth figure in the last two decades.

Perhaps more significantly, local employment passed pre-recession levels in October, meaning the Houston economy is no longer simply playing catch-up, but is once again expanding. In fact, Houston is the first - and so far only - major metro area to regain more than 100 percent of its recession job losses.

In 2010, uncertainties abounded over funding for NASA with the retirement of the space shuttle program, the impact of health care reform legislation on the Texas Medical Center, a federal ban on most deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and proposed curbs on carbon emissions. Last year, the European debt crisis brought new worries, even though the impact on Houston would likely be minor.

The region found a way to grow in spite of those headwinds, continuing to put the recession behind it a bit more each month.

That comeback started in February 2010, the first month the region began recouping some of the 152,800 local jobs lost between the start of the recession in September 2008 and January 2010. By last October, Houston had regained 153,000 jobs.

It is not by accident that the Houston region experienced growth over the last two years and is on track for even greater growth this year. Our region learned many lessons from the challenges of the 1980s. In 2005, the Greater Houston Partnership launched a Strategic Plan to chart a course toward future regional economic prosperity. From this plan, a program called Opportunity Houston was born to help create 600,000 regional jobs, attract $60 billion in capital investment and expand trade by $120 billion for the greater Houston area by the end of 2015.

The plan targets growth sectors like aerospace/aviation, information technology, energy, biotechnology/life sciences, nanotechnology, advanced manufacturing, distribution and logistics, and corporate headquarters. Since its inception in 2006, Opportunity Houston has reached 75 percent of its jobs goal and 84 percent of its capital investment goal. In 2011, the program's efforts garnered the addition of almost 26,000 jobs and attracted $750 million in capital investment to the Houston economy.

Last year our region made gains in a number of key indicators, including foreign trade, industrial production, home sales and airport traffic. The local burst of job creation in 2011 was largely driven by the region's vast energy sector. In addition, the in-migration of residents from other places also contributed as people voted with their feet and moved here to get ahead. Just in the last few years, more than 360,000 Californians have moved to Texas for job opportunity.

The growing strength in a number of local sectors should carry over into 2012. The 10-county region is expected to add another 84,600 jobs this year, according to a recent forecast from the Greater Houston Partnership. That's like adding a city the size of Tyler to the local area - in a single year.

Rising activity in the Gulf of Mexico should create still more momentum. In addition, Houston-produced goods and services are more affordable abroad, boosting demand and stoking local job growth.

That's not to say that the recovery is done. There will be parts of the Houston economy, just as with the U.S. economy, that will continue trying to find their footing. This could make for a bumpy ride at times.

But even with those challenges, the long-term outlook for Houston remains bright. Indeed, by 2035, the region will add nearly 3.4 million residents and 1.43 million jobs, representing a quarter of the state's job growth, according to a projection by The Perryman Group. That is our future.

Let us be proud that Houston is doing more than its part to move the country out of recovery and back into prosperity.

Make no mistake, the word is out that small businesses, entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies that want an unfair advantage over the competition are finding Houston is the place to be if you want to grow jobs, capital investment and opportunity.

The Greater Houston Partnership is the primary business advocate for the 10-county Houston region. With more than 2,100 member organizations, GHP represents approximately one-fifth of the region's workforce. Its Opportunity Houston program will help create 600,000 regional jobs, attract $60 billion in capital investment and expand trade by $120 billion for the greater Houston area by the end of 2015.

Kellner is the chairman of the board for the Greater Houston Partnership; Few is chairman of the partnership's Economic Development Committee and Moseley is president and CEO of the partnership.

as with the U.S. economy, that will continue trying to find their footing. This could make for a bumpy ride at times.

But even with those challenges, the long-term outlook for Houston remains bright. Indeed, by 2035, the region will add nearly 3.4 million residents and 1.43 million jobs, representing a quarter of the state's job growth, according to a projection by The Perryman Group. That is our future.

Let us be proud that Houston is doing more than its part to move the country out of recovery and back into prosperity.

Make no mistake, the word is out that small businesses, entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies that want an unfair advantage over the competition are finding Houston is the place to be if you want to grow jobs, capital investment and opportunity.

The Greater Houston Partnership is the primary business advocate for the 10-county Houston region. With more than 2,100 member organizations, GHP represents approximately one-fifth of the region's work force. Its Opportunity Houston program will help create 600,000 regional jobs, attract $60 billion in capital investment and expand trade by $120 billion for the greater Houston area by the end of 2015.

Kellner is the chairman of the board for the Greater Houston Partnership; Few is chairman of the partnership's Economic Development Committee and Moseley is president and CEO of the partnership.