On Friday, June 27, 2014, Dr. Ray Perryman addressed regional leaders about the economy at the Fort Hood Economic Region’s 7th Annual Economic Conference.
Perryman spoke about economic conditions at the global, national, state and local levels.
From a local perspective, Perryman noted that the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) continues to rank in the top 3-4 percent in the nation. The forecast for the MSA is that employment will grow by two percent and the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) Output will increase by four percent. “There is great access to higher education in the region and success in sustaining a strong economy is going to be dependent on matching bodies to industry,” stated Perryman. “The region does not lack in population but the region needs to focus on skills development,” added Perryman.
Dr. Marc Nigliazzo, Texas A&M University Central Texas said, “I think Dr. Perryman made the challenge to education at all levels very clear. Our region will remain exceptionally competitive and attractive if we can provide quality, affordable education that aligns well with the needs of regional business and industry. The strengthening partnership between KISD, Central Texas College, and A&M Central Texas holds great promise for meeting that challenge. We have a rare opportunity to almost perfectly align educational delivery and to define meaningful educational pathways for current and future members of our workforce.”
Other topics of interest mentioned by Perryman included that: Texas is up by 1.2 million new jobs; Texas did not experience a huge housing bust, mainly because of the number of homes overbuilt in the 1980’s; there will be a need to build approximately 175,000 new homes to address the population growth of 400,000 people migrating to Texas each year; there was a 40 percent increase in new investment in Texas during the recession, and overall, the cost of living in Texas is very moderate. On a national level, Perryman said, “the impact of changing the minimum wage is that Texas and the United States will probably be equal. There are few industries paying minimum wage and those that are will cut back on their number of employees.” Perryman also noted that very few families live on minimum wage. Training the workforce is a solution to better paying jobs. The purpose of the conference is to better acquaint invited guests with the shifts that are occurring in regional, state, national and global economies. Guests in attendance included community leaders, business leaders, school administrators and economic developers.
FHER is an association of the economic development organizations of two cities in Bell County in partnership with the Workforce Solutions of Central Texas. Member cities are Belton and Killeen. FHER was founded in 1999 in an effort to leverage resources to promote the Central Texas region for business and industry expansion and relocation projects. The organization engages in cooperative marketing and market research in topical areas where the program results are mutually advantageous, such as this event.
Workforce Solutions of Central Texas provides a wide array of services to meet the needs of business, industry, and workers. These services are designed to connect Texans to jobs and to equip workers with the skills needed to foster economic development. Workforce Solutions of Central Texas work with employers, employees, and the general public to achieve these goals.