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Austin economy
November 20, 2009
Austin job losses continue
The Austin area continued to lose jobs last month, but is in better shape than other large Texas cities.
Central Texas had 0.4 percent fewer jobs in October than a year earlier,or 3,200 overall. Steep losses continued in manufacturing and construction, offset by hiring by school districts and state and local governments.
The picture was worse in Dallas, with a 2.5 percent annual job loss; Houston, down 3 percent, and Fort Worth and San Antonio, both down 0.7 percent.
The Austin area unemployment rate was 7.2 percent, unchanged from October but up from 4.6 percent a year earlier.
Statewide, the unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in September and 5.2 percent in October 2008.
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October 16, 2009
Austin job loss rate moderates
Central Texas lost jobs at a 0.7 percent annual rate last month, a slight improvement from August, the Texas Workforce Commission reported.
The unemployment rate was 7.2 percent, unchanged from September but up from 4.6 percent in September 2008.
The statewide unemployment rate was 8.2 percent, up from 8 percent in September. But the state lost 44,700 jobs between September 2008 and last month.
In the Austin area, the biggest percentage drop continued to be in manufacturing, with an 11.5 percent year-over-year decline. That mostly reflects deep cuts by high-tech employers.
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September 30, 2009
Austin ranks high as 'mecca' for the young and the restless
Austin gets a nice nod in today’s Wall Street Journal as one of the top five cities that are attractive to recent college graduates looking for a great place to work and live.
The Journal asked six experts, including demographers and economists, to rank cities that qualify as “post-recession meccas” for young (18 to 29), educated and highly mobile workers.
Seattle and Washington, D.C. tied for first place, followed by New York, Portland, Ore., and Austin.
The article listed “hip, casual’ Austin’s well-known attributes — the state capital, the University of Texas, the South by Southwest music/film conference and the Austin City Limits music festival.
The list was more than a popularity poll: So-called youth magnet cities tend to have more vigorous economies than other cities.
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September 18, 2009
Austin job-loss rate deepens in August
The Austin area lost jobs for the third month in a row in August, and at the steepest rate so far in the recession.
The area lost 7,200 jobs between August 2008 and last month, a 0.9 percent drop. The decline was 0.2 percent in June and July, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
The losses were concentrated in the manufacturing sector, where the annual loss rate was 11.5 percent. That reflects continuing job cuts by high-tech companies including Samsung Austin Semiconductor and Applied Materials Inc. and their suppliers.
The unemployment rate in the Austin-Round Rock area last month was 7.2 percent, down from 7.3 percent in July but up from 4.7 percent in August 2008.
Statewide, the unemployment rate was 8 percent in August, up from 7.9 percent in July but up from 5 percent in August 2008.
The state lost 62,200 jobs last month.
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September 3, 2009
American YouthWorks gets green-jobs grant
A U.S. Commerce Department agency has awarded a $750,000 grant to American YouthWorks of Austin.
The grant will let the Austin nonprofit build a training center for workers entering the “green” workforce.
The center “will provide workers with the skills needed to compete for higher-skilled, higher-wage ‘green’ industry job opportunities,” said Sandra Walters, an executive for the agency’s Economic Development Administration.
American Youthworks assists young adults and teens through educational and job training efforts.
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August 21, 2009
Austin job market remains soft
The Austin area job market remained soft in July, with 1,400 fewer jobs than a year earlier and a 7.3 percent unemployment rate, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.
It was the second month in a row that the region had lost jobs. The 0.2 percent loss rate was the same as it was in June.
However, the Workforce Commission report said the loss in July was due most to seasonal workforce cuts by universities and school districts.
The unemployment rate was up from 7.1 percent in June and 4.7 percent in July 2008.
Statewide, the unemployment rate was 7.9 percent, up from 7.5 percent in June. The national rate is 9.4 percent.
The state had 41,600 fewer employed people last month than in July 2008. But employment was up by 27,400 from June of this year.
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July 17, 2009
Austin unemployment jumps, region has first job loss
Central Texas lost jobs in June, the first time that has happened since the tech crash earlier in the decade.
The region’s unemployment rate jumped to 7.1 percent, from 6.2 percent in May, the Texas Workforce Commission reported.
Until last month, Austin had stood alone among major cities for four months in a row as the only one that was adding jobs during the recession.
But the region lost 1,200 jobs in June from June 2008, a decline of 0.2 percent, the Workforce Commission reported.
The biggest drop was a 12.9 percent loss of manufacturing jobs. Major tech companies including Applied Materials Inc., Spansion Inc, Freescale Semiconductor and Dell Inc. have been cutting manufacturing jobs in the past year.
Some other major employment categories continued to grow, including government, up 3.8 percent, and professional and business services, up 2.1 percent.
Statewide, the unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent from 7.1 percent in May. The national unemployment rate is 9.5 percent.
While there are early signs that the recession is starting to ease, economists say the job situation will continue to deteriorate this year, with national unemployment expected to hit 10 percent by the end of the year.
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July 10, 2009
Sales tax revenue falling for Texas cities
Texas cities are still struggling with declining sales tax revenue, with the latest allocations from the state down 8.8 percent, the Texas Comptroller’s Office said.
The Comptroller’s Office distributed $426.7 million this month to cities, counties, and other local taxing districts. The money represented sales that occurred in May.
In Central Texas, Austin and Round Rock continued to see the steepest declines.
Austin’s allocation of $10.2 million was down 12 percent from a year ago, and Round Rock’s allocation of $4 million was down 14.6 percent.
But seven of the area’s 11 largest cities had increases, in many cases because new retail centers or grocery stores have opened since last year.
The biggest gains came in Pflugerville, up 20.4 percent, and Lakeway, up 33.6 percent.
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June 19, 2009
Austin job growth holds up in May
Austin’s job market continues to hold up in the recession, with a job growth rate of 0.5 percent in May, up slightly from 0.4 percent in April, the Texas Workforce Commission said today.
That translates to 4,200 more jobs than in May 2008, for a total job count of 781,400.
Unemployment rose to 6.1 percent from 5.8 percent a year ago. Economists have said that partly reflects the fact that people continue to move to Central Texas, expanding the workforce.
Statewide, the unemployment rate rose to 7.1 percent from 6.6 percent in April. The state had 24,700 fewer jobs than in May 2008, a 0.2 percent decline.
In Central Texas, hiring by government agencies and in the broad services sector accounted for most of the job gains. The region continues to lose construction and manufacturing jobs.
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June 15, 2009
Recovery in sight for the Austin economy?
Austin’s economy has stabilized, and while it remains “mired in recession,” economists at Wells Fargo said that the foundation is being built for a recovery.
“Austin’s economy is already on the mend, or at least has not continued to fall,” said a new report from Wells Fargo Economics.
The area’s labor market continues to grow jobs and a business cycle index compiled by the Dallas Federal Reserve, while down from a year ago, appears to have bottomed out, the report said.
The report said questions remain about the health of the Austin area’s housing market. Even there, however, the report said the housing market should hit bottom sometime in the middle of the year, although the recovery “will not be very strong.”
So far, the report said, this recession has been shallower in Austin than the 2001 tech industry crash. That hasn’t been the case for many other Texas cities, the report said.
Here’s what the report said about other Texas cities:
San Antonio: Job and housing markets continue to deteriorate; recession has left “no sector unscathed;” unemployment rate could hit 7 percent by the end of the year.
Houston: Economy “went into shock” last September, when oil prices plunged; unemployment will keep rising to a forecast 7.4 percent; median home price has fallen 8 percent.
Dallas/Fort Worth: Dallas unemployment rate of 7.2 percent in March was highest since 1978; Fort Worth likely to top 1992 record of 7.6 percent; job markets in both cities unlikely to recover until “well into 2010.”
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June 3, 2009
Austin leads nation again on job growth
The Austin area was the nation’s strongest big-city job market last month, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Among the 38 metro areas with a workforce of at least 750,000, Austin was the only one that gained jobs from April 2008 to April 2009, the bureau said. It was the third month in a row that Austin had earned that distinction.
Austin added 3,400 jobs in that period, a 0.4 percent gain, during that period.
Among other technology hubs, the Silicon Valley area lost jobs at a 4.4 percent annual rate in April. Portland, Ore., was down 4.7 percent, Seattle was down 3.4 percent and Raleigh, N.C., was down 3.3 percent.
Some smaller cities also racked up gains, including Midland, up 2.2 percent, and Odessa, up 2.9 percent.
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May 22, 2009
Unemployment drops in Central Texas
While the national job market remains challenging, figures released Friday morning from the Texas Workforce Commission show that the local economy is still showing small signs of improvement.
The Austin and Round Rock region continued to add jobs during April, and its unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent from 6.2 percent in March.
The Texas Workforce Commission also said Friday that the region’s annual growth rate was 0.4 percent for the second month in a row. That works out to 3,480 jobs gained between April 2008 and April 2009.
The local unemployment rate is still much higher than it was a year ago however, when it was 3.5 percent .
The statewide unemployment rate was unchanged in April at 6.7 percent, but above a the 4.6 percent rate reached the same month a year ago. However, the state’s jobless rate for April remains well below the national rate of 8.9 percent last month.
The state lost 39,500 jobs in April, however. And it’s lost 173,900 jobs in the past year.
“While the Texas unemployment rate remains substantially lower than the national rate, it is of real concern that Texans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own are having a difficult time finding employment,” said Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken in a statement. “Continued unemployment claims remain much higher than a year ago.”
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April 17, 2009
Austin job picture brightens a bit
The Austin region’s job picture improved slightly in March with an uptick in the job growth rate and a small drop in the unemployment rate from February, according to figures released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission.
The 6.2 percent unemployment rate was down slightly from 6.3 percent in February. But it remains well above the 3.8 percent rate from March 2008.
However, job growth was at a 0.4 percent annual rate, up from 0.2 percent in February. In February, Austin was the only one among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas to have any job growth.
Statewide, the jobless rate rose to 6.7 percent in March from 6.5 percent a month earlier. A year ago, the Texas unemployment rate was 4.6 percent.
Nationally, the jobless rate was 8.5 percent in March.
“The Texas unemployment rate remained well below that of the nation, although Texas suffered a net loss of jobs in March,” said Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken. The “national recession continues to have an impact.”
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March 26, 2009
Austin area job growth falls sharply
Central Texas job growth fell sharply in February to a 0.2 percent annual rate, the lowest in five years, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
The region’s unemployment rate was 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.4 percent in January but up from 3.8 percent in February 2008.
Central Texas’ job growth rate had been averaging around 1 percent in recent months and was 0.9 percent in January.
Texas overall lost 46,100 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate rose to 6.5 percent, up from 6.4 percent in January and 4.5 percent in February 2008.
“Texans are facing tough economic times now, with significant statewide job losses,” said Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken. “However, the Texas unemployment rate remains far below that of other large states and the nation as a whole.”
The national jobless rate was 8.9 percent last month.
Among large Texas cities, unemployment was 7 percent in Dallas, 7.4 percent in Houston and 6 percent in San Antonio.
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March 16, 2009
Dallas Fed report: Recession has landed full force in Texas
Texas’ economy started losing steam in late 2008, and now has joined the rest of the country in a full-blown recession, according to a new report from the Dallas Federal Reserve.
The state was, fortunately, late to the party: The national recession started in December 2007. It took another six months before Texas’ economy began to slow down, the report said.
Key indicators, including job growth, exports, and various manufacturing indexes all fell in the second half of the year, the report said.
Among the state’s biggest cities, Austin and Dallas have slowed the most in recent months, while Houston continued to grow.
That’s because the Austin and Dallas economies have relatively higher exposure to a larger number of very cyclical sectors that are being hit by the recession than Houston or San Antonio do.
In Austin, that includes construction, information services, wholesale trade and real estate.
Dallas has higher exposure to a range of financial services industries, such as banking and insurance, as well as real estate.
The Fed report says that the state will lose a total of 269,000 jobs this year, a 2.8 percent decline, compared to 0.4 job growth in 2008.
If there’s any bright spot, the report says that the job losses will be the worst in the first half of this year, and then ease up starting in June.
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March 13, 2009
Sales tax revenue falls sharply for most Central Texas cities
Sales tax collections for most Central Texas cities fell in January, with a 23 percent drop in Round Rock and a 13.8 percent decline in Austin, according to a new report from the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
Georgetown had the biggest percentage drop, down 27.3 percent from a year ago.
Of the region’s 10 largest cities, only Cedar Park, Lakeway and Kyle had increases. San Marcos was essentially flat from a year ago.
The Comptroller’s Office distributes sales taxes to cities on a delayed basis, so the cities received money this month for sales that took place in January.
Statewide, distributions to cities and other local taxing districts were down 0.6 percent for the month, although they are up 2.2 percent for the year to date compared to the same period in 2008, Comptroller Susan Combs said.
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March 10, 2009
Austin hiring forecast: Moderate
Austin area employers have modest hiring plans for the second quarter, according to the periodic survey by Manpower Inc.
Seventeen percent of companies the staffing firm surveyed said they planned to add jobs in the quarter. Ten percent expect to cut jobs, 69 percent expected to hold steady and 4 percent were not certain.
Among big Texas cities, the strongest outlook was in San Antonio, where 21 percent of companies said they planned to add jobs, followed by Houston, where 20 percent of companies said they would hire in the quarter.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 15 percent said they planned to add jobs.
Manpower surveys 31,800 companies nationwide for its survey.
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March 5, 2009
Seeking comments on applying for unemployment benefits
As more Austin companies cut jobs, the ranks of unemployed Central Texans are growing.
If you unfortunately have joined that list, we’d like to hear about your experiences applying for and collecting unemployment benefits.
Can you get through on Texas Workforce Commission phone lines? Are you getting accurate information? Are the benefits enough to keep your household going through the downturn?
Let us know by commenting on this blog.
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Central Texas unemployment rate jumps in January
The Central Texas unemployment rate jumped to 6.4 percent in January, up from 4 percent a year ago and 5.2 percent in December, as the deepening recession wiped out more jobs.
The Texas Workforce Commission said the statewide rate rose in January to 6.4 percent from 4.4 percent a year ago and 5.6 percent in December.
The state jobless rate still is below the national rate of 7.6 percent in January. When the federal government reports the February rate tomorrow, economists say they expect it to hit 8 percent.
In Central Texas, 55,700 people are unemployed, up from 34,700 in January 2008. The workforce also grew during that period, from 858,000 to 875,000 in January.
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January 15, 2009
Angelou forecasts tough economy for Austin in 2009
2009 doesn’t look pretty for Austin’s economy, says Angelos Angelou, who has tracked the local business scene for 25 years.
Angelou said today that Austin employers will add only 2,100 jobs this year, that wages could fall and that real estate markets will continue to weaken
Even though the picture doesn’t look pretty, Angelou told an audience at his economic forecast event that Austin is in far better shape than many other cities.
“We are going to weather the storm better than many places around the country,” he said.
Better means a paltry 0.2 percent job growth rate this year in the Austin area, Angelou forecast. Things will improve in 2010, when Austin adds 11,000 new jobs, for a growth rate of 1.4 percent, far below the 2008 job increase of 2.5 percent, he forecast.
The strongest job sectors locally will be government, professional services and education, which all will grow largely because of continued population growth.
The weakest areas will be manufacturing and construction, which will lose jobs.
The real estate market is soft and getting softer, Angelou said, forecasting sharp increases in vacancy rates for office, manufacturing and retail space throughout the area.
Rents will drop throughout commercial real estate and in apartments as well.
New housing starts will drop so sharply in the next two years, he said, that Austin may find itself in a single-family housing shortage within the next few years.
“There are a lot of cushions for Austin’s economy,” Angelos said. “Some of its strength is that continued population growth keeps injecting money into the economy.
Almost all the area’s major private employers will trim jobs this year, the economist said.
“2009 will be one of the toughest years Austin has experienced,” Angelou said. “I am looking forward to 2010” when he expects Austin will be rebounding from the slump.
Angelou’s somber outlook stands in contrast to his rosier forecast of a year ago, when he expected job growth of 3.1 percent for 2008.
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December 19, 2008
Austin job picture darkens
The Austin area job situation weakened in November, as unemployment rose to 5 percent from 3.5 percent a year ago.
But the region still is growing jobs at a 1.6 percent annual rate, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.,
Statewide, the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent from 4.2 percent a year ago.
The statewide job growth rate was 2.1 percent.
“While Texas is holding our own compared to the national trends, we continue to feel the impact of the U.S. and international economic downturn,” said Tom Pauken, chairman of the commission.
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November 21, 2008
Region's jobless rate trends slightly up; state sees steeper increase
The Central Texas region saw its jobless rate tick slightly upwards to 4.8 percent in October, while statewide, the unemployment rate saw a bigger jump, according to figures released by the Texas Workforce Commission Friday.
The five-county region that includes Austin and Round Rock posted a jobless rate of 4.7 percent a month earlier. However, the region is still posting much higher rates than last year. A year ago, the jobless rate was 3.5 percent.
Statewide, officials saw the impact of Hurricane Ike and the national economy take a toll on the Texas labor market last month.
The Texas jobless rate was 5.6 percent last month, up from 5.1 percent a month earlier.
“The combination of Hurricane Ike and adverse national economic trends has resulted in a one-half percent increase in the unemployment rate in Texas for October,” Tom Pauken, Texas Workforce Commission chairman, said in a statement.
“While Texas still has nearly a one percent lower unemployment rate than the rate of the nation, I would expect unemployment rates in Texas to continue to track the national trend upward in the months ahead,” Pauken said.
Austin, however, continues to escape the turmoil seen elsewhere. In October, the national jobless rate was 6.5 percent, up from 6.1 percent a month earlier.
The region, which includes Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell and Bastrop counties, is still posting slow, but steady job growth. The region reported a 1.9 percent annual job growth rate, much slower than a year ago when the rate was in the 3 to 4 percent range.
Overall, the local workforce has added 14,700 jobs since last year at this time.
Construction, government and financial activities sectors still show gains from 2007, but manufacturing, which has been hurting, shows a dramatic loss of 7.3 percent of jobs in that area. That’s represents 4,400 jobs lost to the regional economy.
The Lone Star state is reporting better news in terms of job gains. Texas added 230,400 jobs over the last 12 months, for a 2.2 percent rate.
In October, the U.S. economy posted a loss of 1.1 million jobs.
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October 3, 2008
Conventions, events in Austin this month
The Austin City Limits music festival is over, but things still will be hopping at Austin area hotels and the convention center this month.
Here’s a list from the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, which estimates that the combined economic impact of the events will top $30 million.
Oct. 1-7: Armstrong-McCall 2008 World’s Fair of Cosmetic Arts & Sciences Austin Convention Center Estimated Attendance: 12,000
Oct. 3-Nov.9: Texas State USBC Bowling Association 2008 Texas State Mixed Tournament Dart Bowl Estimated Attendance: 3,000
Oct.4-5: Endorfun Sports Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin Triathlon & Festival Walter E. Long Park Estimated Attendance: 1,500
Oct. 6-8: Cellnet+Hunt THExchange 2008 Renaissance Austin Hotel Estimated Attendance: 350
Oct.6-10: Keller Williams Realty Masterminds Hilton Austin
Estimated Attendance: 400
Oct. 6-10:PlanView 2008 User’s Conference Hilton Austin Estimated Attendance: 35
Oct.9-10: Learning Disabilities Association of Texas Annual State Conference Sheraton Austin Estimated Attendance: 650
Oct. 10-12 International Soccer Club of Austin All Nigerian Soccer Tournament Northeast Metro Park Estimated Attendance: 1,200
Oct. 12-14: American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration Annual meeting Austin Convention Center Estimated Attendance: 1,200
Oct.14-17: Texas Environmental Health Association 2008 Annual Conference Omni Austin Hotel Southpark Estimated Attendance: 500
Oct. 15-18: American Bar Association Forum on Franchising Hilton Austin Estimated Attendance: 650
Oct. 16-21: Organization Development Network Annual Meeting Renaissance Austin Hotel Estimated Attendance: 1,000
Oct. 17-18: Catholic Charities of Central Texas Ministry Conference Austin Convention Center Estimated Attendance: 3,500
Oct. 19-22: Vignette Inc. Vignette Village 2008 Hilton Austin Estimated Attendance: 1,200
Oct. 21-26: National Association of Home Builders Custom Builder Symposium Hilton Austin Estimated Attendance: 550
Oct.2 3-25: Texas Association of Sports Officials Basketball State Meeting Hilton Austin Airport Estimated Attendance: 600
Oct. 27-Nov. 1: American Dance Therapy Association Annual Conference Omni Austin Hotel Downtown Estimated Attendance: 400
Oct.27-30: Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services DADS Conference Doubletree Hotel Austin Estimated Attendance: 600
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September 2, 2008
Cypress Semiconductor, Education Finance cutting 324 jobs
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. is closing its Round Rock plant, cutting 211 jobs over the next several months.
Education FInance Partners, which handles student loans, is cutting 113 jobs with the closure of its North Austin operation.s
Both companies notified the Texas Workforce Commission of the job cuts.
Cypress said it had explored other alternatives s for the Round Rock facility before deciding closing it was the only option. The company told the commission that the job cuts would occur in four waves, starting in late October.
Education Finance Partners had moved most of its operations from San Francisco to Austin last year, but got caught up in the controversy over student loan companies that paid colleges and universities to steer students to them.
Lenders also have largely cut off money for student loans.
The company told the workforce commission it had tried to obtain additional financing, but had been unable to do so, leading to the Austin shutdown.
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August 15, 2008
Austin job growth holds up, but unemployment rises
Austin’s job growth was 2.1 percent in July, as the region added 15,800 jobs from a year earlier.
The Central Texas unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent from 4 percent a year ago, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
The region’s job market has slowed considerably from a year ago, when job growth was over 4 percent. Almost all of the loss has come in manufacturing. But the loss of those 2,700 jobs has been offset by gains in construction, financial services, and hotels and restaurants.
Statewide, job growth was 2.4 percent last month, with unemployment rising to 5 percent from 4.7 percent a year ago.
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June 20, 2008
Austin job growth, home sales back to 2004 levels
Austin’s economy is slowing down, with home resales and job growth last month both retreating to mid-2004 levels.
The region’s job growth rate was 2.2 percent, down from 4.2 percent a year ago and the lowest rate since July 2004.
Unemployment rose to 3.7 percent, from 3.3 percent in May 2007, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
Meanwhile, 2,154 existing homes sold last month, down 20 percent from a year ago and the lowest number for May in four years, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.
However, the median price continues to rise. It was $196,120 last month, up 7 percent from last year.
There were 10,500 homes on the market last month. Board of Realtor records going back a decade don’t show a higher number, although there were slightly over 10,000 homes for sale in the summers of 2004 and 2005.
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