The Austin region’s unemployment rate dropped to 3% in April, a level that economists generally consider “full employment” and well below the state and national unemployment rate. While some big-name employers have made headlines for trimming their local workforces from pandemic highs, Central Texas’s diversified economy — and job market — remain incredibly strong and resilient.
Private companies and the public sector are investing tens of billions of dollars in new projects and programs that will catalyze emerging industries, strengthen our workforce and help maintain our high quality of life. The Austin region continues to attract workers, capital and innovative companies from around the world at a rate most areas of the country can only envy — and our best days lie ahead.
Sustaining Momentum
The latest unemployment data is just one indicator of Austin’s economic strength. Austin was the 9th best performing among the top 50 metros for the year ending in April, adding 28,900 jobs. All but one of our 11 major private industry sectors added jobs over the last 12 months.
In the last two months alone, the Austin region has generated a steady drumbeat of positive news that highlight our region’s competitive strength and ongoing appeal:
- In April, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced a $45 billion expansion of its planned semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Taylor that’s projected to create more than 4,500 manufacturing jobs within the next five years. Construction of the first $17 billion phase of this project is well underway, and the facility is expected to be operational by the end of this year.
- The Frank Erwin Center was demolished this month, an important step toward the planned 2026 groundbreaking of the University of Texas at Austin Medical Center and UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. The $2.5 billion project is expected to further accelerate growth in Austin’s emerging Life Sciences sector, which has already grown to include more than 300 companies with more than 21,000 employees..
- In March, the City of Austin, Austin Community College and other groups announced they would partner to form the Austin Infrastructure Academy to help recruit, train, support and place some of the additional 10,000 workers a year that Central Texas is expected to need to support the $25 billion in planned mobility infrastructure investments planned for our region over the next 20 years.
- Finally, last week the U.S. Census Bureau released its latest report on the fastest growing cities and Central Texas was once again home to three of the four fastest growing cities with populations over 50,000 people between July 2022 to July 2023. Census data released in March showed Austin-Round Rock MSA had the second fastest rate of growth among large metro areas, behind only Jacksonville, Fla.
Enduring Economic Strength
One of the last metro areas impacted by the Great Recession and the first to break out, the Central Texas economy consistently outperformed much of the nation between 2010 and 2020. When the pandemic hit and many other regions struggled, our growth accelerated from robust to blistering, regularly posting eye-popping gains in job creation, business relocations, and real estate appreciation for two years.
The immense growth we experienced after the pandemic put the Austin region in the spotlight. With that increase of growth, it also introduced a variety of growing pains. The region has anticipated some of those key challenges and are actively working to mitigate them. Opportunity Austin is at the forefront of ensuring our economic momentum remains sustained and existing and future companies will continue to grow and expand in the Austin region. Together, with a wide network of regional partners, investors, and community stakeholders, we are building a brighter future, ensuring that the Austin region thrives for generations to come.
