Despite the energy downturn that began in late 2014, The Woodlands area has continued to add new jobs, and Houston as a whole could start recovering from the oil and gas downturn in 2017.

According to Greater Houston Partnership officials, oil prices have climbed to nearly $50 per barrel, up from a low of $26 in February last year. Despite continued losses in construction and oil field services in The Greater Houston area, GHP projects a net gain of 29,700 new jobs to be created in 2017 in the region in other industries, such as health care, hospitality and education.

Rebounding from the oil and gas downturn and the future of the local economy were topics at the annual Economic Outlook Conference hosted Jan. 27 by The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce.

Gil Staley, CEO of The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership, said at the conference that despite the low price of oil, The Woodlands did gain new jobs over the past year that contributed to the local economy.

“If you had asked me four or five months ago, I thought we were going to be at a loss,” he said. “I truly did.”

According to the EDP, The Woodlands has 33,128 jobs, up from 32,618 jobs in 2016. This refers to nonretail companies with more than 100 employees. The top five major employers in The Woodlands that were named at the conference are Conroe ISD, Anardarko Petroleum Corporation, Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital, Aon and ExxonMobil.

The five companies alone make up more than 12,000 employees. Energy remains the largest sector of the community’s major employers, but health care comes in second at 21 percent.

“Health care is addressing the needs of a growing community, and we are thankful,” Staley said.

J.J. Hollie, The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said while some large corporations in The Woodlands like Anadarko, which announced job cuts companywide last year, felt the effects of the oil and gas downturn firsthand, The Woodlands has done well on an economic scale.

“Businesses have largely been doing fairly well here since in a large part, we attract a lot of headquarters here in this area,” Hollie said. “We’re also still expected to grow.”

Hollie said many people are feeling optimistic about the change in oil price and are looking at a positive rig count in the future.

While the energy industry could see production pick up again in this year, experts agree economic recovery will not be truly complete until oil prices reach at least $60-$65 per barrel.

However, an increase in prices and rig counts does not mark employment growth in the industry just yet. GHP projects losses are still set to continue in 2017 for employment in the oil services, construction and information industries.

Development officials in The Woodlands said job markets that will continue to grow, address the needs of the local community and create more employment opportunities in the area include the expanding health care market, and upcoming retail and office projects.

Additional reporting by Marie Leonard