Houston's economic diversity Thread .. (Bedford, Roma: incomes, tuition, vehicles)

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

Those rankings make me wonder if people are just moving to places they want to live in, without jobs lined up, then are being counted as unemployed when they seek the job placement services that the local employment commissions offer ?

I sincerely doubt it. Places like LA and Chicago have negative population growth.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

I sincerely doubt it. Places like LA and Chicago have negative population growth.

If people only moved where they enjoyed being, Texas wouldn’t be the leader in population growth

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

If people only moved where they enjoyed being, Texas wouldn’t be the leader in population growth

Ok let me refine my thoughts a little more. Maybe they are moving to and or trying to stay in places that they are tied to in some way. Another thought 2 job families where 1 partner is unemployed and other factors may have skewed the correlation of employment to population growth.

One thing is for sure there is not the direct link of employment and population growth there once was, something has changed.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

Ok let me refine my thoughts a little more. Maybe they are moving to and or trying to stay in places that they are tied to in some way. Another thought 2 job families where 1 partner is unemployed and other factors may have skewed the correlation of employment to population growth.

One thing is for sure there is not the direct link of employment and population growth there once was, something has changed.

Thats true

But unemployment figures isn’t the representation of this. Los Angeles a clear dead last also has a lot to do with California laws and allowing extended unemployment’s. Jobless rate would be more accurate

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

Ok let me refine my thoughts a little more. Maybe they are moving to and or trying to stay in places that they are tied to in some way. Another thought 2 job families where 1 partner is unemployed and other factors may have skewed the correlation of employment to population growth.

One thing is for sure there is not the direct link of employment and population growth there once was, something has changed.

Well, there is still a link. Its just not as strong.

There is a lot more remote working these days. If you dont have to be in a city you dont like, even if your job is based there, why do it?

Still, every metro area is judged the same in unemployment statistics. There are very good reasons why some cities are doing better than others right now as always. Its honestly quite easy for me to believe that Atlanta and DFW have healthier economies at the current time (that doesnt mean they always will, just speaking about the current time) because we still do depend significantly on O&G and it has been the ringer in the last 15 months. Unlike Illinois, New York, and California, Texas and Georgia never shut down hard which means that hasnt hindered them. Chicago, LA, and Vegas are all doing more poorly than we are, but for different reasons.

Houston's number will get better, but probably not due to diversification in the short term. O&G will recover and stabilize and that will contribute to falling unemployment. If Im being perfectly frank, the easiest way for us to obtain economic diversification and stability is to shed the unstable jobs within O&G.

Its going to be a marathon for us, not a sprint. We are moving in the right direction but weve still got a ways to go.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Well, there is still a link. Its just not as strong.

There is a lot more remote working these days. If you dont have to be in a city you dont like, even if your job is based there, why do it?

Still, every metro area is judged the same in unemployment statistics. There are very good reasons why some cities are doing better than others right now as always. Its honestly quite easy for me to believe that Atlanta and DFW have healthier economies at the current time (that doesnt mean they always will, just speaking about the current time) because we still do depend significantly on O&G and it has been the ringer in the last 15 months. Unlike Illinois, New York, and California, Texas and Georgia never shut down hard which means that hasnt hindered them. Chicago, LA, and Vegas are all doing more poorly than we are, but for different reasons.

Houston's number will get better, but probably not due to diversification in the short term. O&G will recover and stabilize and that will contribute to falling unemployment. If Im being perfectly frank, the easiest way for us to obtain economic diversification and stability is to shed the unstable jobs within O&G.

Its going to be a marathon for us, not a sprint. We are moving in the right direction but weve still got a ways to go.

Something I’m noticing you’re not taking into account is that unemployment isn’t the only indicator here. Now, I’m not saying that there’s nothing to learn about the unemployment list because there absolutely is. But it’s far from the only indicator and it has so many variables. Unemployment doesn’t equal jobless. Were jobless to be the figure, Detroit and Vegas would be FAR lower than listed. Eventually, those who lost their jobs aren’t “unemployed” anymore even if they haven’t managed to find another job. Los Ángeles and general California government extends their unemployment compared to most states, especially Texas. And LA sits dead last. But there’s no way in h—- that it has a worse position than Detroit.

As a matter of a fact, as someone who had to take four economics courses in college, one of the things that stuck out the most was how bad the unemployment criteria is.

I agree with your last 2 paragraphs btw, I’m just saying you’re holding too much weight on such a volatile statistic.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Something I’m noticing you’re not taking into account is that unemployment isn’t the only indicator here. Now, I’m not saying that there’s nothing to learn about the unemployment list because there absolutely is. But it’s far from the only indicator and it has so many variables. Unemployment doesn’t equal jobless. Were jobless to be the figure, Detroit and Vegas would be FAR lower than listed. Eventually, those who lost their jobs aren’t “unemployed” anymore even if they haven’t managed to find another job. Los Ángeles and general California government extends their unemployment compared to most states, especially Texas. And LA sits dead last. But there’s no way in h—- that it has a worse position than Detroit.

As a matter of a fact, as someone who had to take four economics courses in college, one of the things that stuck out the most was how bad the unemployment criteria is.

Every metro area is measured by the same criteria. Im not saying its the end all be all, but the methodology applies to every place equally.

Right now, I dont know that Detroit is doing all that bad for itself. Do I think its healthier than Houston despite the numbers? Not really. Do I think its doing better for itself than LA or Chicago? Yes, I do. Thats where factors regarding shut downs, regulations, and taxes come in.

In the end I look at unemployment data to economic health like Id look at the cost of housing when evaluating cost of living. Its not the whole picture, but it is the biggest piece. Its not perfect of course as you correctly point out different states report their numbers differently, but its close.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Every metro area is measured by the same criteria. Im not saying its the end all be all, but the methodology applies to every place equally.

Right now, I dont know that Detroit is doing all that bad for itself. Do I think its healthier than Houston despite the numbers? Not really. Do I think its doing better for itself than LA or Chicago? Yes, I do. Thats where factors regarding shut downs, regulations, and taxes come in.

In the end I look at unemployment data to economic health like Id look at the cost of housing when evaluating cost of living. Its not the whole picture, but it is the biggest piece.

Disagreed. If are going by employment alone, job growth rate. Is a bigger piece. Because unlike unemployment, job growth rate actually is a static statistic. Who qualifies for unemployment is in and out. Were unemployment to equal jobless, you’d be correct but it doesn’t.

Current numbers aren’t available, but last year, Detroit lead all 1 million + metros in jobless rate other than Vegas. If this is still the case, May or May not be, but what is certain is that many of those who were previously unemployed and haven’t found a replacement job are no longer “unemployed” statistically

[Jack Lance]

More seed and VC money translates into greater economic diversity for Greater Houston.

Houston-based enterprise software developer Umbrage raises $2M seed round

Umbrage, a local developer of software offerings for enterprise clients, has raised new growth funding.
The Houston-based digital studio announced March 23 it closed a $2 million seed financing round. The funding round was led by Rice Investment Group, a $200 million investment fund based in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.


Umbrage develops custom software products for enterprises in oil and gas, health care, supply chain, e-commerce and a variety of blue-collar sectors. The firm partners with enterprise clients undertaking a digital transformation to develop software products that can be implemented and scaled quickly across the entire organization.

Despite a challenging business climate during the pandemic, Umbrage has grown to nearly 40 employees since the company's founding in 2019. The software developer also managed to become cash-flow positive within weeks of launching, Umbrage said.

Enterprise software developer Umbrage raises seed round - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

[Jack Lance]

A Houston based SPAC (special purpose acquisition Company) merges with Florida based Space Tech company creating a public company and economic diversity for the Greater Houston economy.

Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company started by an affiliate of Houston-based private equity firm Genesis Park LP, plans to take a space infrastructure developer public.

Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: GNPK) announced March 25 it had entered into an agreement to merge with Jacksonville, Florida-based Redwire, a provider of critical space infrastructure technology and services. The combined company will be named Redwire and will continue trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The merger values Redwire at a pro forma enterprise value of $615 million, and Redwire is projected to generate revenue of $163 million in 2021.

"Space-based capabilities and services are improving lives on Earth every day, and Redwire is an invaluable mission partner, providing technology that has been at the forefront of space infrastructure from the beginning," said Peter Cannito, chairman and CEO of Redwire. "Today, the influx of private capital, new public sector space initiatives and decreased launch costs are driving tremendous growth in the space industry, which is projected to exceed $2 trillion by 2040."

"We intended to find a profitable partner with strong management, powerful intellectual property and impressive organic growth. Redwire achieves that vision by transforming the future of space infrastructure and services at a time when the space industry is on the brink of exponential growth," Hobby said. "Redwire is a proven, solidly profitable player in the space community and the undisputed leader in on-orbit 3D printing, servicing, assembly and manufacturing. We also believe there is significant opportunity to accelerate growth through strategic combinations in the fragmented space landscape."

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/...re-merger.html