BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – The Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce hosted its 2026 economic outlook event on Wednesday, drawing city officials, government representatives, and business leaders to discuss regional economic trends. Katherine Kleemann, President and Owner of Spherion Staffing & Recruiting, highlighted that Brazos County’s unemployment rate stands at approximately 3.3 percent, notably lower than both the state average of slightly above 4 percent and the national figure of 4.4 percent. She emphasized that sub-4 percent unemployment reflects a robust labor market, with the county ranking as the third lowest in Texas for joblessness.
Michael Ostrowski from the city of College Station noted that over 70,000 individuals are employed within city boundaries, with around 40 percent working in educational services. However, healthcare has emerged as the fastest-growing sector since 2001, expanding by 190 percent. Kleemann pointed out that healthcare and skilled industrial trades face significant labor shortages, as demand exceeds the supply of qualified candidates. These roles require extensive training, making workforce re-skilling a lengthy process.
She added that such positions are less susceptible to automation, offering stronger prospects for wage growth compared to industries more vulnerable to artificial intelligence. A vibrant job market has also spurred commercial development across the region. In College Station, Ferro Diagnostics and Biologicals is building its global headquarters in a $15 million project spanning 50,000 square feet. Another major development includes a $10 million, 20,000-square-foot facility for Strat Corp.
In Bryan, Deputy City Manager Joey Dunn highlighted ongoing work in the midtown park district, particularly the construction of Schulman’s Movie Theater. The venue features both indoor and outdoor spaces, with community amenities like pickleball courts and boardwalk areas generating enthusiasm. Despite construction delays, completion is expected within the year. Dunn also stressed the importance of developing infrastructure around the Rellis campus, which currently lacks sufficient residential support despite significant employment growth.
“There’s really not a lot of residential feeding that area,” Dunn remarked, questioning where workers live, shop, refuel, or dine. Addressing this imbalance remains a priority. Kleemann observed that small businesses are currently outperforming larger enterprises in terms of growth, reinforcing the region’s entrepreneurial spirit. “We’re a community that has a lot of small businesses, a lot of great small businesses,” she said.
Texas A&M University Chief of Staff Michael O’Quinn announced plans to increase faculty presence in classrooms through a hiring initiative for the upcoming fiscal year. Overall, speakers at the conference expressed confidence in the long-term economic trajectory of the Bryan-College Station area.
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BCS City officials say 2026 economic outlook is promising
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – The Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce held their 2026 economic outlook conference on Wednesday. City leaders, government officials and other business leaders gathered to hear economic updates regarding Aggieland. n n“Currently in Brazos County, we have about a 3.3 percent unemployment rate, at the state level [it’s] a little over 4 percent. The US level [is] 4.4 percent,” explained Spherion Staffing & Recruiting President and Owner, Katherine Kleemann. “Under 4 percent is very low unemployment. We historically have had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state. We’re the third lowest county, I think, in the state of Texas.” n nMichael Ostrowski, with the city of College Station, says that of the over 70,000 employees within the city limits, about 40 percent of them work within the educational services sector. n nHowever, healthcare remains one of the fastest growing sectors locally. Ostrowski said that since 2001, healthcare has grown 190 percent. Kleeman said the tightest job markets, meaning there are more available jobs than skilled workers to fill them, are healthcare and heavy industrial skilled trades. n n“Healthcare is adding jobs at the fastest pace. Heavy industrial skill trade [are] hard to fill jobs [as well]. Both of those industries, it’s difficult to re-skill employees,” Kleeman said. “It takes a long time to get somebody to a clinical healthcare worker status or to some of the certificate programs necessary for those heavy skilled trade industrial jobs.” n nThose jobs areas cannot be easily filled with AI, Kleeman says they remain promising in terms of wage growth as opposed to some other industries. n nAlong with what experts said was a strong job market comes new developments. As the population of BCS grows, commercial developments are also expanding in the area, including some major projects coming to College Station. n n“Ferro Diagnostics and Biologicals, they’re an animal health related company. They’re constructing their world headquarters. It’s about a $15 million project, about 50,000 square feet,” said Ostrowski. n nOther projects include a $10 million-dollar, 20,000 square foot building for local company, Strat Corp. n nOver in Bryan, Deputy City Manager, Joey Dunn said they are focusing on the midtown park area, in particular the Schulman’s Movie Theater under construction. n n“It is designed specifically for that space. It has indoor, outdoor space. We’re very excited about the pickleball, about the area along the boardwalk,” Dunn noted. n nDespite delays in the building process, Dunn said they expect that project to be completed this year. He also said developing around the Rellis campus is a priority for the city. n n“There’s really not a lot of residential feeding that area. It’s a really isolated, huge employment growth area, but where do people live? Where do they buy their gas? Where do they shop? Where do they go to restaurants,” Dunn emphasized. n nOverall, Kleemann said locally, small businesses in particular are thriving. n n“Small business is outpacing large business and job growth right now,” Kleemann added. “We’re a community that has a lot of small businesses, a lot of great small businesses.” n nMichael O’Quinn who is the Chief of Staff for the President of Texas A&M University said they are trying to get more professors in classrooms and have engaged in a faculty hiring program for the next fiscal year. n nOverall, the speakers at Wednesday’s conference were hopeful about the economic future of Aggieland.