Austin’s Job Market Growth Simplified

Virtually every Austinite who reads, watches, or hears the news knows Austin’s job market is continuing to grow. Austin recently landed expansions from companies such as Apple and National Instruments, and these types of hiring opportunities have kept the unemployment rate hovering around 5%, well below that of the United States and most other cities in the nation. And, it seems with the jobs come even more people seeking a desirable Austin lifestyle, as Austin was just reported as the #1 city in the nation for population growth.

In January 2013, the Texas Workforce Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Austin metro area added over 35,000 jobs in the rolling 12 month period ending November 2012. This 4.4% growth rate ranks Austin at the top of the nation’s largest metro areas. NerdWallet.com even ranked Austin the “Best City for Job Seekers.”

Tech, manufacturing, and healthcare are some of the largest industries in Austin, with major companies such as Dell, which makes its home in north Austin, plus IBM, 3M, Seton Family of Hospitals, Applied Materials, and Google. Austin local giant Whole Foods, in its trendy central Austin home, is clearly a key player, as is the friendly startup environment that draws so many creatives and entrepreneurs to town.

The National Instruments expansion alone is slated to bring 1,000 new technical and engineering jobs to Austin (and NI will spend $80 million in the process, to expand its Texas research and development complex.) Who else has announced expansions? The Austin Chamber of Commerce compiled a list of the 2012 announced Austin business expansions and relocations: