Low Oil Prices Could Spell Jobs Trouble in Texas
Low oil prices could soon cause a broad slowdown of jobs growth in Texas, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says.
Amid a glut of global supply, surging U.S. production and concerns about an economic slowdown, benchmark U.S. crude prices have hovered below $50 per barrel for nearly two weeks, and they've held below $60 per barrel since before Thanksgiving – a 40 percent discount from the 18-month high prices had hit just two months earlier.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude, or WTI, has already reportedly forced some oil producers in Texas to cut spending ahead of the new year. And though the state's unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest point in decades, the impact of such sustained low oil prices could soon be felt beyond just the energy sector.
"The Texas labor market will likely tighten further in the months ahead; however, if oil prices continue to linger around $50 per barrel, job growth in the state may begin to decelerate," the Dallas Fed said in an economic update last week.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/low-oil-prices-could-spell-jobs-trouble-in-texas/ar-BBREttV?li=BBnbfcN
