Perryman Shares Economic Forecast

TYLER — Internationally-known economist Dr. Ray Perryman Thursday offered a Tyler audience a varied message in his annual national, statewide, and East Texas economic outlook. Perryman remains relatively upbeat about East Texas, Tyler in particular. As in the past, he points to continued economic diversification, saying the health care industry remains “very very strong, continuing to grow and prosper.” Perryman also mentions company expansions as well as new companies coming into the market, singling out investments in the manufacturing sector. He says though East Texas has some dependence on the oil and gas industry, there’s not nearly as much in our region as in parts of the state where there’s been a lot of fracking activity. According to Perryman, the Tyler area will probably grow faster than the state or the country in general over the next 4 to 5 years.

In Texas as a whole, Perryman predicts a difficult year with very slow growth, largely attributable to tumbling oil prices — but he expects more normal growth levels in the state in 2017. Nationwide, Perryman says we’re looking at another year of modest but not spectacular growth.