Austin among the leading US cities emerging from recession
Austin among the leading US cities emerging from recession
Austin has been ranked in the top 20 US cities with strong population growth, the study was done by the Census Bureau, this is a reflection of the sound economic performance of Texas as whole (the state had several of its cities in the top 20), and subsequently may be given four additional House seats following the 2010 census.
There are a number of reasons for the strong growth in population that Austin has seen, chief among these is a sound record of economic performance and job growth, the increase in the city’s population is driven mainly by pull, rather than push, factors. This means that individuals moving to the city are pulled here by job opportunities, rather than pushed here by retrenchment or unhappiness with their previous home.
Another reason for the population increase is, of course, the recession, that ever-present financial calamity that has wormed its way into almost everyone’s lives. Many baby boomers who would previously have retired and moved away to traditional retirement states, such as Florida, are now staying in the job market, because their savings have been eroded, or because they feel uncomfortable retiring in an unstable economy.
This, along with Austin’s growing reputation as a place of growing innovation for small businesses, has enabled the city to weather the recession rather well in comparison to other big cities.
Nine local businesses in Austin were featured in a recent issue of Time Magazine as an example of the kind of innovation that the country needs in driving job growth. Small businesses are an essential part of the economy, according to Austin news sources they contribute over 60% to the city’s GDP.
This is Austin’s strength. It is still seen as a city where job creation, and wealth creation, can happen, and small business owners here are not plagued by quite as much uncertainty as elsewhere in the country.
There are a number of reasons for this, which were outlined in the recent issue of Time. As the state capital, Austin has some inherent stability, it also houses the University of Texas, which produces highly trained tertiary education students that can enter the job market and lead it forward. Austin is also the technology center of the Southwest, which provides for the creation of many high-growth companies.
The city has stumbled like other US cities though, there is an unemployment rate in Austin that is much higher than it was a few years ago, there are thousands of workers who cannot find another job, this is especially true of people who used to work for big companies, like Dell, that were forced to down-size.
But, overall, its unemployment rate is three points below the national average, and new job opportunities are cropping up every day, there are countless examples of the city’s inherent entrepreneurial spirit.
In the past two months a video-game company hired 50 new employees, a new LED lighting manufacturer is hiring on the outskirts of town, lab workers are needed for a pharmaceutical start-up. The same can be said of other cities in the US, but Austin is comfortably leading the recovery, and has developed a reputation as one of the cities where jobs are finally beginning to reappear in significant numbers.
Comments
More Austin News
RSS-
Search for survivors begins after tornado hits Oklahoma City
The search for survivors goes on Monday night in Oklahoma. Fifty-one people are confirmed dead and at least 140 are injured. The National Weather service preliminary surveys calculate that this was at least an EF-4 tornado. It was a mile-wide at times with winds ranging from 160 to 200 miles per hour. Businesses and even an elementary school was literally flattened within a matter seconds. ...
-
Communities weigh in on tornado sirens
HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) - In several communities across the region, tornado sirens are used to warn residents of impending danger. In Central Texas, San Marcos has 14 sirens and Cedar Park just added three in the city's largest parks. Georgetown also has the warning systems, and in the Hill Country, there are sirens in San Saba and Mason. In Austin and Round Rock, no tornado sirens are in ...
-
Austin-Travis County EOC StormReady
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Should a major disaster strike Central Texas, the Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center and a team of first responders can activate a large, specially-equipped facility within 30 minutes. We dont have any control over the weather," said emergency coordinator Pete Baldwin. All we can do is make sure where the resources are, know to make sure they need to be ...
-
Beer bills move to Gov. Perrys desk
AUSTIN (KXAN) - On Monday afternoon, the House passed all of the four beer-related bills, which will now head to Gov. Rick Perry's desk. The vote was expected since three days prior , lawmakers used voice votes to overhaul regulations that apply only to craft breweries. Current laws prohibit brewpubs from packaging their beer for retail stores. They also prevent breweries from selling beer ...
-
Austin trustees weigh partnership for Eastside High
Austin school trustees Monday night were still considering awarding a $393,690 contract to Baltimore-based Talent Development Secondary of Johns Hopkins University to operate the troubled Eastside Memorial High School. They hadn't voted by press time.While district administrators previously expressed concern about low test results for the group's flagship school, the Baltimore Talent ...
-
Texas lawmakers pass Merry Christmas bill
Texas lawmakers have just made it politically correct for teachers to say Merry Christmas in the classroom. It may be have been a hot 94 degrees outside the capitol, but inside it felt like Christmas for State Representative Dwayne Bohac of Houston. House Bill 308, what Bohac has dubbed the Merry Christmas bill, is now on the way to Governor Rick Perry's desk. "It allows school ...
-
Tips for protecting yourself from online impersonators
When you reach a certain level of visibility online...you can become the prey of what are known as "trolls" and "griefers." "They're basically people who really want to cause problems," said Brad Bogus, the president of "Speak Social," a strategic marketing firm where social media is their specialty. Bogus said, "They can hack into your ...
-
City reveals park master plan
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Plans are in store for new park land in Austin. The area around the old power plant on Holly Street on the east side will be undergoing a transformation. As the city moves forward, they want input from the public. Austin's Parks and Recreation Department held a workshop Monday at Martin Middle School to engage the public. Project organizers presented a master plan to the ...
-
Diversity lacking in Austin map-drawing finalists
Of the 60 finalists who could potentially draw 10 Austin City Council districts, most are white or Hispanic, 45 years old or older and live west of Interstate 35.That data, compiled by the American-Statesman and the city auditor's office, raises questions about whether the 14 people ...
-
Austin Colony could get ambulance service added
Amid disagreements over how to serve growing populations outside Austin's city limits, county commissioners are expected to consider Tuesday whether to add ambulance service to a fire ...
-
Community News Central Texas students win $16500 at International Science Fair Williamson County nurses honored
Local students to participate in a day of volunteering The 650 students representing Westlake High School's graduating Class of 2013 will participate in Senior Service Day volunteering from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at various nonprofits within the community.Students will work with 30 different agencies to help with a range of projects including volunteering at food banks, retirement ...
-
New mental health clinic helps underserved in eastern Williamson County
Philip English, a 70-year-old resident of Thorndale, said he couldn't find any mental health services to help a troubled relative in eastern Williamson County. Then he heard about a new clinic at 404 Carlos Parker Blvd. NW in Taylor.English said he was impressed after the relative got counseling for anger issues at the new place -- Eastern Williamson County ...
-
Soto Chirinos fill void competently behind the plate
Email ARLINGTON -- The Rangers went into Monday's game with the Athletics having won nine of their last 13 games. That's significant because those 13 games took place while catcher A.J. Pierzynski was on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle in his right rib cage. The Rangers were able to survive and thrive because of the work of Geovany Soto and Robinson Chirinos. Soto was ...
-
Texas lawmakers approve part of water overhaul
AUSTIN (AP) Texas lawmakers have given final approval to an overhaul of the Texas Water Development Board as the state grapples with how to manage water resources amid drought and a rapidly growing population. Monday's vote sends the bill to Gov, Rick Perry, who had urged lawmakers to pass a new $2 billion fund to provide low-interest loans for water projects such as reservoirs and ...
-
Senators grill Perry’s nominees to UT board
State senators sharply questioned three nominees to the University of Texas System Board of Regents on Monday regarding a long-running controversy about governance of the Austin flagship and the job security of its president, Bill Powers.One senator said during the confirmation hearing that he would vote against the nominees because he believes they are "on a mission" to dismiss ...
-
First wave of relief workers heads to Oklahoma
The Austin Fire Department has sent two employees to Oklahoma to help with relief efforts.An engineer, who will help determine whether buildings are safe to search, and a communication specialist will join Texas Task Force 1, said department spokeswoman Michelle Tanzola.As of 7:30 p.m. Monday, both were enroute to the disaster area.The force is an elite search and rescue team at Texas A&M ...
-
Cap Metro mulls fare increase
Capital Metro fares, last raised in 2010 after being static for much of the agency's first quarter-century, could be headed up again.A consultant hired by the transit agency to study fares, including how they compare with those in other comparable cities, recommended Monday that Capital Metro in January increase its weekly and monthly pass prices by 10 to 20 percent, and begin charging ...
-
Number of $100000-plus earners jumps 78 percent at Central Texas school districts
As fast as Central Texas school districts are growing, the number of highly paid administrators is growing even faster.The number of school employees with salaries of more than $100,000 has jumped 78 percent over the past five years, an American-Statesman analysis of data from eight area school districts has ...
-
Austin startup Compare Metrics raises $3.5 million for expansion
An Austin startup that wants to change the way online retailers interact with their customers has raised $3.5 million from investors including Austin Ventures.Compare Metrics, founded in 2012, has developed a software platform that lets websites customize the product content they provide to ...
-
Controversial Williamson County elections administrator leaves for Georgia job
Williamson County Election Administrator Rick Barron, who survived a no-confidence vote earlier this year, submitted his resignation Wednesday. He has announced he has been hired to take over as election administrator for Fulton County, Ga., next month.Speaking via cell phone from Georgia, Barron said his last day in Williamson County will be June 7. His first day in Atlanta is to be June 19. ...
-
Suspected tornado devastates small Texas school
BLANKET, Texas (AP) - A strong storm winds authorities suspect was a tornado smashed the public school complex in a small town in the rolling hills southwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Texas Department of Public Safety reported a tornado about 6 p.m. Monday in Blanket, a town of about 400 residents about 100 miles southwest of Fort Worth. Brown County sheriff's spokeswoman Kim ...
-
Lawsuit alleges RunTex owes lender $625000
RunTex's money woes continue, with a lawsuit alleging that the troubled retailer owes a lender $625,000.That's in addition to a $150,000 judgment obtained by the store's ...
Austin Digest
-
Austin among the leading US cities emerging from recession
The financial crisis, now refered to by some as the Great Recession, has battered cities across the country, but Austin has become a pocket of hope where jobs are available and the population is growing, suggesting that the city may be among a few in the US leading the country out of the recession.
Austin has been ranked in the top 20 US cities with strong population growth, the study was done by the Census Bureau, this is a reflection of the sound economic performance of Texas as whole (the state had several of its cities in the top 20), and subsequently may be given four additional House seats following the 2010 census. Read more
News from around our Network
