KHOU
KHOU MOBILE APP AS SOON AS IT STARTS.
STARTS.
STARTS. >>> THE NUMBER OF AMERICANS
FINALLING FOR UNMOMENT BENEFITS
DOUBLED TO MORE THAN 6 MILLION.
TODAY ISOCHEIMS ARE DOUBLE LAST
WEEK'S RECORD NUMBER ECONOMISTS
ARE USING WORDS LIKE
DEVASTATING.
DEVASTATING. SOME EXPERTS BELIEVE THE
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE COULD HIT
LEVELS WE HAVEN'T SEEN SINCE
THE GREAT DEPRESSION.
BUT AN EVENTUAL RECOVERY SHOULD
HAPPEN MUCH MORE QUICKLY.
>> WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW BIG THE
NUMBER WOULD BE.
BUT WE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE
BIG.
BIG.
BIG. BECAUSE WE TOLD OURSELVES TO DO
THIS.
THIS.
THIS. RIGHT?
RIGHT?
RIGHT? THE SHUT DOWNS, LOCK DOWNS,
STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS, WHAT HAVE
YOU.
YOU.
YOU. THOSE THINGS.
THOSE THINGS. THEY'RE DESIGNED IN A LOT OF
WAYS TO HAVE THIS EFFECT.
>> THAT'S UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT CHAIR,
DETRICH.
DETRICH.
DETRICH. HE SAYS THE TEXAS ECONOMY IS
DIFFERENT SINCE SO MANY OIL AND
GAS JOBS WERE THREATENED BEFORE
THIS HAPPENED.
THIS HAPPENED. WE'LL HAVE MORE FROM HIM AND
HEAR FROM RECENTLY LAID OFF
WORKERS COMING UP AT 5:00 AND
6:00.
6:00.
6:00. TODAY THE KHOU TEAM STANDING
WITH YOU.
WITH YOU.
WITH YOU. WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW THIS
ECONOMY IS IMPACTING OIL AND
GAS.
GAS.
GAS. BUT
GAS. BUT FIRST, CHRIS KOSTA SHOWS US
WHO IS HIRING NOW.
>> THE NUMBER ONE INDUSTRY
HIRING IN TEXAS NOW IS HEALTH
CARE.
CARE.
CARE. ACCORD FOG THE TEXAS MEDICAL
CENTER WEBSITE, THERE ARE
ALMOST 1300 JOBS IN A 30-MILE
RADIUS OF HOUSTON.
CVS IS ALSO HIRING WITH NEARLY
700 JOBS IN THE GREATER HOUSTON
AREA.
AREA.
AREA. STORE MANAGERS, CASHIERS,
PHARMACY TECHNICIANS AND
LOGISTICS LIKE WAREHOUSE
POSITIONS, THEY'RE OFFERING AN
ACCELERATED PROCESS FOR PEOPLE
LAID OFF FROM CERTAIN PARTNER
COMPANIES.
COMPANIES. RETAIL, TRADE, AND FOOD
SERVICES MAKE UP 33,000 JOB
OPENINGS ACROSS THE STATE
ACCORDING TO TEXAS WORK FORCE
COMMISSION.
COMMISSION. BUT WITH SO MANY PEOPLE
UNEMPLOYED, COMPETITION FOR
THESE JOBS IS HIGHER THAN
NORMAL.
NORMAL.
NORMAL. >> I'M EVEN COMPETING WITH
PEOPLE THAT ARE LIKE VICE
PRESIDENTS AND THINGS LIKE
THAT.
THAT.
THAT. SO
THAT. SO IT'S A LOT OF COMPETITION
OUT THERE AS WELL.
YOU'RE NOT DEALING WITH THE
EVERYDAY JOB MARKET.
>> WORKINTEXAS.COM.
>> WORKINTEXAS.COM. SHOWS 500 JOBS IN THE GREATER
HOUSTON AREA AND IS RECOMMENDED
BY THE TEXAS WORK FORCE
COMMISSION.
COMMISSION. THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS HIRING
TOO.
TOO.
TOO. AND
TOO. AND HAS MORE THAN 100 JOB
OPENINGS.
OPENINGS.
OPENINGS. YOU CAN FIND LINKS TO THESE
WEBSITES AND MORE JOB OPENINGS
N OUR WEBSITE, KHOU.COM.
OR OUR MOBILE APP, IN HOUSTON,
CHRIS KOSTA, KHOU 11 NEWS.
>>> OIL PRICES SPIKED 25%
TODAY.
TODAY.
TODAY. AFTER PRESIDENT TRUMP TWEETED
HE EXPECTED SAUDI ARABIA AND
RUSSIA TO CUT BACK ON OIL
PRODUCTION.
PRODUCTION. COULD THIS BE THE KIND OF NEWS
THE HOUSTON ECONOMY HAS BEEN
LOOKING FOR?
LOOKING FOR? HERE'S RON.
HERE'S RON. >> AS WE KNOW, THE CENTER OF
THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IS
RIGHT HERE IN HOUSTON.
AND ONE EXPERT I SPOKE WITH
TODAY SAYS HE'S HOPEFUL THAT
THE INDUSTRY WILL RECOVER BUT
HE SAYS THE PROBLEM IS MUCH
BIGGER THAN THE PRICE WAR
BETWEEN THE SAUDIS AND THE
RUSSIANS.
RUSSIANS.
RUSSIANS. JUST LOOK AT THE PRICE OF GAS
IN HOUSTON THESE DAYS THE
PROBLEM IS MANY OF US AREN'T
AWARE HOW LOW IT IS.
BECAUSE WE'RE NOT DRIVING.
>> WHAT MANY OF THE PRODUCERS,
SMALL INDEPENDENTS ARE FACING,
IT'S THE SAME PROBLEM THAT THE
CHRISTMAS TREE SELLER HAS ON
JANUARY 1. THERE'S NO ONE THERE
TO BUY YOUR TREES.
>> ED IS AN ENERGY ECONOMIST AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON.
HE'S TRACKED THE OIL BUSINESS
AND HOW IT'S EXPANDED AND
CONTRACTED IN HOUSTON FOR FOUR
DECADES.
DECADES.
DECADES. HE'S CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE
PRESIDENT'S TWEET.
PRESIDENT'S TWEET. SIGNALING THAT THE SAUDIS AND
RUSSIANS COULD END THEIR PRICE
WAR.
WAR.
WAR. >>
WAR. >> SAUDIS REALLY DON'T HAVE AN
INCENTIVE TO CUT PRODUCTION.
AND IT DOESN'T DO THEM ANY
FAVORS.
FAVORS.
FAVORS. SO I'M GOING TO WAIT UNTIL I
CAN START SEEING DATA ON THE
SHIP BEFORE I BELIEVE THEY HAVE
CUT PRODUCTION OR THAT THE
RUSSIANS HAVE CUT PRODUCTION.
>> HE SAYS THE BIGGER PROBLEM
FACING THE ENERGY SECTOR IS THE
ONE FACING US ALL, THE CHRIST.
>> SAUDIS AND THE RUSSIANS
TODAY COMPLETELY SHUT IN AND
WENT TO ZERO PRODUCTION.
THE MARKET STILL WOULD NOT BE
IN BALANCE.
IN BALANCE. >> ED HEARSE IS CONFIDENT THE
ENERGY INDUSTRY WILL RECOVER
BUT HE SAYS IT WILL BE A
PAINFUL TIME FOR NOW, IN TEXAS
AND IN HOUSTON IN MAR.