ODESSA, Texas — Dr. Ray Perryman, of the Perryman Group, provided his insight on the local economy during the annual Economic Forecast Conference at the Odessa Marriott Hotel Thursday.
At the conference, Perryman gave an optimistic outlook on the Permian Basin’s economy and its potential output.
“It’s trending upward," Perryman said. "It’s slowed down a little bit in the last few months, but no, it’s definitely on an upward swing. At this point in time we’re seeing job growth, we’re seeing output growth, we’re seeing sales growth. All the things you’d expect to see. And the energy markets look like they’re gonna be relatively healthy for a while.”
This is good news for local business owners, such as Dwaine Cox, who has owned Permian Basin Hamburger Company for 44 years.
Along with the uptick in the economy, Cox believes that increases in the oil industry have led to more hungry oilfield workers coming down to the restaurant.
“Well, our business has been good lately, the last three or fourth months," Cox said. "We’ve had some really big months, even maybe bigger than before the pandemic. I contribute that to the whole economy picking up, and we’ve seen a lot more oilfield workers come down.”
Even with some small struggles in the past, all industries should see an uptick in business with the upcoming holiday season, particularly the restaurant business.
Cox has seen it for himself, saying that business always picks up slightly during the holiday season.
“First, we always have a real big November, and we always have a big December, even though we close for a week there,” Cox said. “People are in a festive mood. They’re out shopping and eating and stuff, so we see a little uptick sometime in December.”