May 20 2008

Get a Job in Austin!

Tag: Austin, Austin Texas Economy, Jobs, Market Update, News — Jcline @ 12:28 am

Austin’s unemployment rate has dropped dramatically over the past five years, from 6 percent in 2003 to 3.6 percent in the first quarter of 2008, far below the national rate of 5 percent. In the face of a tightening of the national job market, Austin once again defies conventional trends and posts healthy numbers.

Employers in the Austin area take advantage of the presence of the University of Texas to reap from a pool of highly educated, talented workers and offer them incentives to remain in the area. Average wages are higher, employment in the higher-end job market is stronger, and job growth is steadier than the rest of the nation. The most popular occupations are management, professional, and related occupations with 41 percent of the overall workforce. Sales and office workers come next with 21 percent, third is service occupations with 14 percent.

Mayor Will Wynn’s plan to turn the city into an environmentally responsible, zero waste city has created a new industry – one that is causing ripples of excitement and imitation across the country. “Green” products, building designs, and plans are springing up as entrepreneurs see the writing on the wall and vie for the attention of consumers who are becoming more and more concerned with their impact on the environment.

The job force that graduates from UT Austin each year provides a constant source of young, talented, eager workers, ready to join the technology industry. Austin has become a smaller version of Silicon Valley with such technological powerhouses as Dell, IBM, Freescale Semiconductor, Apple, Hewlett-Packard and the like moving into the area. And, although Austin was bitten by the dot-com as a result of this concentration on the high-tech industry, they have already shown a strong and steady recovery.

Dec 13 2007

Austin has a Great 2008 Ahead

Tag: Austin, Austin Texas Economy, Jobs, News — Joe Cline @ 6:10 pm

Austin’s Econmic Outlook for 2008 - Healthy

December 13th, 2007 7:44 PM

With all the news about doom and gloom in the mortgage industry and a large portion of the country seeing slow sales, declining prices, and layoffs, it’s good to know that here in Austin we have a bright future ahead. A lot of people who are not familiar with the Texas economy and, in particular, not familiar with the cyclical growth of Austin/Central Texas, still seem to think that we’ll have a downturn in 2008. I disagree. The rational growth and limited investor speculation, along with a strong prosepct for job growth certainly make me feel better about this market than 2001-2004. Not that the early 2000’s were that bad, but they certainly weren’t great real estate wise.

The snipet below is from one of my favorite Austin Information sources, The Neal Spelce Letter (www.AustinLetter.com).

As 2007 draws to a close, the Austin-Round Rock metro area is in an enviable position, and when you examine the counties adjacent to the metro – especially those that make up the highly desirable and attractive Hill Country to the west – it looks even healthier economically.

A vibrant economy starts with jobs. When people are working, almost everything else falls into place. Sure, outside economic forces – such as tightened credit policies – have an impact. But, even then, tight credit may prove to be somewhat of a good thing if it keeps workers from getting deeper into debt.

The key point is that this part of Texas is a job mecca. For all practical purposes, anyone who wants a job has a job or can get a job. The five-county Austin-Round Rock metro area in October registered a miniscule 3.3% unemployment. And Travis County (Austin) with the largest population concentration had 3.2% unemployment.

The other four counties are also doing very well. Williamson County (Round Rock, Georgetown, Taylor) recorded 3.4% unemployment, Hays County (San Marcos) also came in at 3.4%, Bastrop County (Bastrop) tallied 3.5% and Caldwell County (Lockhart, Luling) notched 3.7% unemployment. All very, very solid.

And the job picture is even better in the adjacent Hill Country counties. While those counties are not officially included in the five-county Austin area, the population growth is surging west and many of their residents come into the Austin metro for shopping, health needs, entertainment and, yes, jobs. The Hill Country is very much a part of our trade area.

Consider Burnet County (Marble Falls) that abuts Travis County to the west. Its unemployment is an amazing 3.2%. Blanco County (Johnson City, Blanco) touches both Hays and Travis Counties and carries a 3.4% unemployment. And Gillespie County (Fredericksburg, Stonewall), adjacent to Blanco County’s western border, leads all the Hill Country and Central Texas with a 2.9% unemployment.

There is no other major metro in Texas with a better job picture than Austin-Round Rock and its neighbors. This isn’t to demean the others because the other biggies are all doing better than the very good 3.9% Texas state average. But it does reinforce how well Austin is doing.

Nov 18 2007

Austin Is Still Growing!

Tag: Austin, Austin Texas Economy, Cedar Park, Central Business District, Georgetown, Jobs, Leander, Lists, News, Round Rock — Joe Cline @ 6:11 pm

November 18th, 2007 9:40 PM

It’s pleasing to see that in these times of uncertain economic futures, that Austin is still vibrant and drawing people to it with its strong economy, job market, positive lifestyle and affordable cost of living. As a transplant myself, having lived in Connecticut for most of my life, I know what it’s like to live in a so-so place and then move to a place like Austin. Not to put down Connecticut, because it has its postives, but it’s nothing like Austin if you are under retirement age or less than affluent.

Austin sports some of the best weather, most affordable living, and most to do for those who have an interest in the outdoors, want to retire with a mind for making the most of their nest eggs, or have the desire for southern living in a progressive and diverse town.

I’m not much one for statistics, but below are some great details about Texas’ and Austin’s recent population growth! The snipet is from one of my favorite Austin Information sources, The Neal Spelce Letter (www.AustinLetter.com). If you don’t have a subscription, and you are interested in keeping abreast of the Austin events, I suggest you get a copy!

Here we grow again! Anyone looking around Austin knows the area is in the midst of a growth boom. But it is bigger than just Austin. Texas has had a larger numerical increase than any other state – at a growth rate (12.7%) twice that of the nation.

No matter where you go in urban and suburban Texas, it’s hard to get away from this growth (though we’ll mention some pockets of slow-and-no-growth in just a minute). If this trend from 2000 to 2006 continues, Texas is likely to add another 3.6 to 4.0 million people by 2010 – boosting its total population to more than 25 million, according to highly-regarded Steve Murdoch, who has made a career out of studying Texas population trends.

Austin’s population growth this century has been truly phenomenal. As an example, Dallas is the nation’s ninth largest city. Yet Austin added 18,600 people from 2005 to 2006 while Dallas added fewer – nearly 17,000. And Dallas was the eighth fastest-growing city in the nation.

Austin was the 6th fastest-growing city in the nation from 2005 to 2006 – by actual count, not by percentage (that favors smaller cities). This population explosion is happening all around us – in contrast to the rest of the nation. Texas had five of the ten cities with the largest numerical increases from 2005-2006. No other state had more than one.

In percentage terms, the nation’s fastest-growing place from 2000-2006 was in the Austin metro area – Hutto, in Williamson County, which grew by 666%! Also in the Austin metro, Kyle, in Hays County, was in 5th place, growing 289%.