Despite Hurricane Ike, despite the one hundred degree plus summers we endure and despite the images of our cowboy hat wearing children headed to school on horses the rest of the country pictures I am thankful I am a Texan. If you have been watching CNN and MNBC it seems that all of the news lately has been doom and gloom. Reporters are focused on the historical drops the stock market experienced this week, the financial companies declaring bankruptcy, and the sinking housing market. However, in Texas
, we have a saving grace that we see even more predominantly in San Antonio
. . . our job market. Many national companies have relocated to Texas
to take advantage of our cheaper land and tax breaks which has helped steady our economy in general but, more specifically, has helped keep the housing market and credit crunch in check in comparison with much of the nation.
San Antonio
, according to the Express News, has 25 of Inc.com’s 5000 fastest growing companies list with the second highest median revenue of any metro area at $21.3 million. We have seen many companies move into San Antonio
and hire hundreds of workers which helped our city remain stronger than many of our east and west coast neighbors. Other parts of Texas
aren’t doing too badly either. According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, North Texas and Houston
also led the nation in job growth last year with a respective 2.3% and 2.2% growth rate in July in comparison to July of 2007. The gulf coast actually avoided much of the feared damage that Ike was capable of and, thus, the inflated gas prices have already begun to fall by over $5 per barrel. Although Hurricane Ike caused $15-$20 billion in damages this really can have a positive impact on the Texas
coast. The rebuilding process will require new additional jobs to be added with funds being poured in from outside of the areas through insurance money from all over the world. The reality is that as long as our job market remains as strong and consistent as it has been, Texas
is going to be a great place to call home for many years to come.
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