Odessa Economic Index Retreats Slightly, But Still Strong

The Odessa Economic Index declined slightly from December 2018-January 2019, ending up at 266.5, down from the revised 266.7 in December. However, according to economist Karr Ingham, the OEI was up nearly 18%, compared to the January 2018 figure of 226.1.

“The minor decline in January comes on the heels of 26 straight months of growth in the Odessa Economic Index,” Ingham said. He added that the slowdown could be tied to a slowdown in oil industry activity, due to the sharp decline in crude prices, and that the growth “was bound to level off a bit, at some point.”

Meanwhile, the general economy continues operating at a near record high aggregate level, something Ingham indicated would continue. With January 2019 employment estimates/revisions in mind, the 2018 year-over-year employment growth stood at 7.4%. “Under the new estimates,” Ingham noted, “year-over-year employment growth peaked at a whopping 12.2% in April 2018 before moderating through the end of the year.”

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