Industry News and Updates

Happy New Year!!!!! I hope you are as excited as I am to put 2009 behind me and get started with 2010. I already have some encouraging news to share for my Houston Accounting Professionals:

1. Houston still has a lower unemployment than the rest of the nation. 8% vs.10%
2. The price of Oil seems to have stabilized around $80 a barrel (last year it was about half of that). . Projections are that it will hit $100 a barrel this summer. The price of Natural Gas is another story, but it seems to be increasing slowly.
3. The rig count has inched up every single week! We are at 1248 active Rigs now.
4. Industries that will be hiring in Houston include: Government (big surprise!), Social Services / Non Profit, Healthcare, International Trade and some Upstream companies (exclude oil & gas field services for now).
5. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: Our local office is off to a great start!!!! January of 09 was a very slow month for us, but I can tell you that clients are calling us with temporary and permanent orders again. That has not happened for a long time. We have already made several placements in the first two weeks of the year.

These are all great indicators that 2010 will be a better year. The first quarter tends to be our slowest quarter of the year, so I am anticipating a very busy second and third quarter. My next newsletter will hit you inbox in March. Call or email me with any questions or comments. There was a recent article published that about 45% of people are unhappy with their current position. Let me know if you are thinking about making a move this year.