Houston, the energy capital of the world, has enjoyed almost four years of steady growth and this trend is expected to continue in 2014, creating 69,800 jobs with employment growing in all sectors, according to the Greater Houston Partnership in its “2014 Houston Employment Forecast”.

The year should close with 2.9 million payroll jobs, stated the organization, an increase of more than 500,000 jobs since January 2005. Furthermore, the Houston metro area created 79,600 jobs, a 2.9 percent annual growth rate, for the 12 months ending October 2013.

New York and Dallas-Fort Worth are the only two other metro areas that will make a similar claim.

“Since January 2010, the region has added 337,300 jobs, or more than two for every one lost in the recession,” the report stated. “In that time, the region has built 100,000 single-family homes, exported $434.6 billion in manufactured goods and commodities, sold 1.1 million new cars and trucks, handled 188.1 million airport passengers, and welcomed an estimated 400,000 new residents to the region.”

With employment growing in all sectors, the organization predicts that energy and manufacturing will grow but at slower paces, however, several energy components will continue to drive job growth this year, including the ramp-up in construction at area chemical plants, and the backlog of projects at local engineering firms, GHP noted.

“Houston owes much of its prosperity (and notoriety) to the robust oil and gas industry,” the report added.

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