HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — When it comes to jobs this year, a Rice University economic expert believes numbers could either fall off the cliff, or are on the verge of growth.<\/p>\n
When it comes to “now hiring” signs or ads, economic experts aren’t sure what you may see this year.<\/p>\n
“We’re kind of stuck just waiting and watching as the economy continues to plod along through a lot of uncertain times,” tax and budget center director at Rice University’s Baker Institute<\/a>, John Diamond said.<\/p>\n Diamond said there are positive economic signs with American products and trade. These are figures that, he says, could lead to large job growth.<\/p>\n However, recent job reports have him unsure if that’ll happen. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers show that last year, the U.S. added about 580,000 job. The year before, it was 2.2 million.<\/p>\n “The cliff in my mind is we start to lose jobs,” Diamond explained. “Right now, we’re in a no-hire, no-fire economy. If we move into a no-hire, with some significant layoffs, firings, then in my mind, we hit the cliff. By a cliff, I don’t mean anything catastrophic. I just mean moving from an economy that is kind of stable and not into a recession into an economy that is in an active recession.”<\/p>\n It may be different for Houston, Diamond said. He said healthcare and trade could help drive growth.<\/p>\n The Greater Houston Partnership<\/a> projects southeast Texas will see a slower job growth with about 30,000 jobs added.<\/p>\n “I think it’s going to be kind of status quo from last year,” Diamond said. “A little bit of that will depend on oil prices as we move throughout this year.”<\/p>\n For updates on this story, follow Nick Natario on Facebook<\/a>, X<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n