Texas Is More Than Just an Economy Based on Energy. It's Not the 1980s Anymore!
As strong as the Texas economy is, it is widely misunderstood. Hollis Greenlaw, CEO & chairman of United Development Funding IV, tells TheStreet’s Jill Malandrino that Texas creates more oil than Kuwait or Venezuela and more than the amount of imports from the Middle East, which means the energy sector is a significant player in the Texas economy. Last year the state saw an increase of about 16, 000 jobs in the energy space. However, seven other sectors of the Texas economy produced more jobs than energy. The leading sectors were trade, transportation and utilities, accounting for nearly 75,000 jobs. Other sectors include professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, education and health, construction, government and financial services. Over the last 12 months ending in August, Texas added almost 400,000 new jobs, a 3.5% annualized growth rate. The Texas economy is not the economy of the 1980s driven by oil, but rather a globally diversified economy.
