Harold Hunt, a research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, kicked off Wednesday with an economic forecast for the TAR Commercial Networking Forum. The national economy is in slow growth mode, according to Hunt, but Austin and Dallas are among the top job markets in the country, with both growing at nearly 4%. And while the oil dip has hurt producers and the Texas economy, Hunt said that he thinks shale producers in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale will be able to ramp back up as quickly as they need to when the time comes.