After the worst downturn in US oil markets ever, with drilling collapsing further and faster than even the 1980's, the Houston economy has suffered the consequences.  At least 70,000 jobs have been lost in oil production, oil services, fabricated metals, machinery, and various professional services.  Damage has been offset to some extent by continued growth in the national economy and by a major boom in petrochemical construction along the Ship Channel.  This lecture will bring the various trends together to assess Houston's economy performance and its prospects for growth in 2017. Mr. Gilmer is Director of the Institute for Regional Forecasting at the University of Houston's Bauer College of Business.