Kinder Survey reveals huge lapse in job market confidence

Study: Houston views economy as 'biggest problem'

The Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research has released the results of its 45th Annual Kinder Houston Area Survey, shedding light on the economic, environmental, and social issues most pressing to local residents. FOX 26's Greg Groogan visited the Kinder Institute for more insight.

HOUSTON - Job market confidence among Houston-area residents has experienced its largest single-year plummet since the oil bust of 1982. That was the eye-popping finding of Rice University Kinder Institute researchers in the organization's latest expansive annual survey.

What they're saying:

FOX 26 Reporter Greg Groogan spoke in depth about the phenomenon with Survey Director Dr. Dan Potter.

Groogan: You've revealed an unprecedented level of collective angst. What's driving it?

Potter: One of those questions we've asked each year has been about the job opportunities here in the Houston area, and for the last several years, we have typically heard 60, 65, 70% even, saying job opportunities were  good, excellent even. And this year, we watched that number come down by 29 percentage points, which was the single largest drop in one year since 1982-1983, which is the oil crisis in the Houston area.

Groogan: Given the depth of this survey, I have to ask whether there were crosstabs, so to speak, in terms of generation? Was it deeper in say younger adult Houstonians than say older ones?

Potter: When you look at 2025, the Houston area was projected to produce 70,000 jobs. We added less than 20,000 thousand jobs, and so, when folks are looking around and going, man, this economy, these jobs are just not showing up. That's not just some sort of political commentary that is a reflection of the reality people are seeing on the ground. When we were asking folks to help us understand what is driving housing affordability, it's not that rent keeps going up. It's not that my mortgage is out of control. It's my taxes keep going up. My insurances are going up by 50 to 60%. My utility bills increasing by hundreds of dollars. It's those features that are really putting pressure on people now when it comes to their housing. Folks don't see a future getting better. Sometimes you are like this is tough right, but there is a corner we are about to turn. There is no corner that people are seeing right now.

Greg: Policymakers will be using the data you have uncovered. How would you like to see it used?

Potter: People are feeling that (economic) pressure from all around. Are there opportunities to offer some kind of reprieve?