Job Growth Spurs Business-Cycle Index Expansion

Strong job growth helped continue the Houston Business-Cycle Expansion, according to information released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The Fed pointed out that the index grew at an annualized pace of 6.8% from June-September 2018.

Houston employment grew 3.9% over the same period, with construction jobs outpacing other sectors. Year to date, employment grew by an annual 3.6% in September, or by 82,000 jobs, with the largest contributions from professional and business services, as well as the above-mentioned construction. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%.

The increase in professional jobs helped lower the quarterly office vacancy rate. Job growth, “combined with low deliveries of new product, helped bend the curve on vacancy rates,” Dallas Fed analysts said. While industrial vacancies ticked up in Q3 2018, the market and demand remain tight, they added.

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