Tech Giant

A great American loss: Apple visionary Steve Jobs dies at age 56

Steve Jobs
Photo via International Business Times
The front page of the Apple.com website

Apple visionary Steve Jobs died on Wednesday at the age of 56. The man who changed the world of computers and spearheaded innovations like the iPhone and iPad was battling pancreatic cancer and only resigned from Apple on Aug. 24.

Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976. And his influence would extend even beyond computers to revolutionizing the worlds of music and movies.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman and CEO of DreamWorks, calls Jobs as "the Thomas Edison of our time. And in the way that Edison affected so many businesses, so did Steve Jobs."

Jobs has been battling cancer for eight years, but the suddenness of his death — coming less than two months after he stepped down — has shocked many.

Jobs has been battling cancer for eight years, but the suddenness of his death — coming less than two months after he stepped down — has shocked many and made the impact even greater. Jobs' story is in many ways an all-American success tale. He dropped out of college, but ended up being regarded as "The Father of the Computer Revolution" by age 29.

But his comeback, returning to save Apple after being forced out of the company and bringing it to its current wow-factor heights may have been an even greater accomplishment.

Jobs was anything but a mild-mannered computer nerd. Even his competitors cited his charisma and he was known for often ignoring the advice of others and following his instincts, building a reputation as being much more of a dictator leader than some new-age consensus builder. Jobs also turned product unveilings into Internet shows, commanding the stage in his distinctive black turtlenecks and jeans.

"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today," Apple's board of directors said in a statement. "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."

Soon the tributes would come rolling in at the speed of the technology Jobs helped create.

"I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death," Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said in a statement. "Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work. Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.

"The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.

For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."

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2026 jobs forecast

Houston's health care sector will drive job growth in 2026, report predicts

Photo by simonkr/Getty Images

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Buoyed by the growing health care sector, the Houston metro area will add 30,900 jobs in 2026, according to a new forecast from the Greater Houston Partnership.

The report predicts the Houston area’s health care sector will tack on 14,000 jobs next year, which would make it the No. 1 industry for local job growth. The 14,000 health care jobs would represent 45 percent of the projected 30,900 new jobs. In the job-creation column, the health care industry is followed by:

Construction: addition of 6,100 jobs in 2026
Public education: Addition of 5,800 jobs
Public administration: Addition of 5,000 jobs

At the opposite end of the regional workforce, the administrative support services sector is expected to lose 7,500 jobs in 2026, preceded by:

Manufacturing: Loss of 3,400 jobs
Oil-and-gas extraction: Loss of 3,200 jobs
Retail: Loss of 1,800 jobs

“While current employment growth has moderated, the outlook remains robust and Houston’s broader economic foundation remains strong,” GHP president and CEO Steve Kean said in the report.

“Global companies are choosing to invest in Houston — Eli Lilly, Foxconn, Inventec, and others — because they believe in our workforce and our long-term trajectory,” Kean added. “These commitments reinforce that Houston is a place where companies can scale and where our economy continues to demonstrate its resilience as a major engine for growth and opportunity. These commitments and current prospects we are working on give us confidence in the future growth of our economy.”

The Greater Houston Partnership says that while the 30,900-job forecast falls short of the region’s recent average of roughly 50,000 new jobs per year, it’s “broadly in line with the muted national outlook” for employment gains anticipated in 2026.

“Even so, Houston’s young, skilled workforce and strong pipeline of major new projects should help offset energy sector pressures and keep regional growth on pace with the nation,” the report adds.

The report says that even though the health care sector faces rising insurance costs, which might cause some people to delay or skip medical appointments, and federal changes in Medicare and Medicaid, strong demographic trends in the region will ensure health care remains “a key pillar of Houston’s economy.”

As for the local oil-and-gas extraction industry, the report says fluctuations and uncertainty in the global oil-and-gas market will weigh on the Houston sector in 2026. Furthermore, oil-and-gas layoffs partly “reflect a longer-term trend as companies in the sector move toward greater efficiency using fewer workers to produce similar volumes,” according to the report.

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This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.