The stock markets are in turmoil.

There’s fear the United States is headed for a recession.

Did someone forget to tell Houston?

“I’ve seen a lot of jobs open,” James Cohen said. He walked out of the WorkSource employment office with a fistful of job leads.

“Houston is leading the nation in job growth rate,” economist Patrick Jankowski with the Greater Houston Partnership said.

“We’re growing faster than any of the other major metropolitan areas in the U.S.,” he said.

He said even if there is a recession, Houston’s economy could weather it well.

Why?

“The strength in the oil and gas industry and the weakness in the dollar are going to moderate whatever effect a recession might have on the economy.”

Here’s what he means: When it comes to oil, the world’s energy industry shops in Houston.

We visited this drill bit maker over a year ago and back then?

“Yes, we have several openings,” Mike Reese with Varel International had said at the time.

They were running 24 hours a day and couldn’t find enough skilled machinists, engineers and sales people.

And now? Same thing.

In fact, Varel said it’s adding more machinery, operating six days a week and still needs more workers.

Downtown, you can also see the international effect at places like this: Houston’s big law firms.

A weak dollar means foreign companies can more easily afford to hire Houston lawyers, accountants, and engineers who have expertise in the energy business.

Money flowing from around the world into pockets right here in Houston.

“And then those people go out and they buy houses, they buy cars, they go to the restaurants, they go to the mall,” Jankowski said.

Overall, Houston’s job market is still running strong, just not as strong as it was a year ago. The question now becomes how much more will it slowdown and who will be affected.

Take Nakita Campbell.

“Oh it’s horrible now,” she said.

She said it’s already taking her far longer to find a job as a medical assistant.

“Over 100 applications and maybe two or three people have called,” she said.

“Those who are entering the workforce are having a more difficult time finding employment because of the slowdown,” Joel Wagher with Houston WorkSource said.         

Slowing down, but certainly far from laying off.

The Houston WorkSource office said in the past year, local oil and gas companies expanded by 6,700 new workers, professional and business services were up by nearly 12,000 workers.

Manufacturers hired 1,400 new workers, which isn’t much but is better than the nation, which lost factory jobs.

The only place that did lose in Houston: telecom and information companies, down 900 jobs.

Overall, it adds up to a local job growth rate of 2.4 percent, down from 4 percent a year earlier but better than the current national growth rate of not even 1 percent.

“In the Houston area, almost every industry is still hiring except for telecommunications,” Wagher said.

It all means Houston is not immune from a recession, but its resistance may be stronger than just about any place else in the country.