Ask CEOs, entrepreneurs, educators and researchers why the Austin region has stayed hot through more than two decades of business trends and you'll hear one common theme – workforce. It's all about people, and Austin's supply of unmatched employee talent is certainly no accident. Our labor pool is among the most energetic, innovative, and educated in the world. Here, the best and the brightest lead many diverse business sectors. And you'll find like minds coming every day to join them – whether it's from outside our area or through one of the largest talent pipelines in the country – the University of Texas at Austin.

Labor Force, Employment & Unemployment

Labor Force, Employment & Unemployment, 2010

	Labor force	Employment	Unemployment
			Number	Rate
Austin MSA	908,205	843,413	64,792	7.1%
Bastrop Co.	35,184	32,236	2,948	8.4%
Caldwell Co.	16,139	14,748	1,391	8.6%
Hays Co.	81,115	75,390	5,725	7.1%
Travis Co.	560,967	522,170	38,797	6.9%
Williamson Co.	214,801	198,870	15,931	7.4%

Unemployment Rates

	2007	2008	2009	2010
Austin MSA	3.7%	4.4%	6.9%	7.1%
Texas	4.4%	4.9%	7.6%	8.2%
U.S.	4.6%	5.8%	9.3%	9.6%

Employment, Austin MSA

Employment Growth

Note: Time series of annual and monthly numbers for these and additional workforce indicators are updated monthly on the Chamber's Economic Indicators page.
Source: Texas Workforce Commission.

Employment by Industry

Employment by Industry, Austin MSA

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Total non-farm	723,200	757,500	775,800	759,100	766,500
Construction, natural resources, & mining	44,600	49,000	47,400	40,800	39,000
Manufacturing	58,900	59,700	57,200	48,500	47,300
Wholesale trade	38,500	41,300	41,500	37,700	39,600
Retail trade	76,300	81,400	84,300	82,200	81,800
Transportation, warehousing, & utilities	12,600	13,300	13,400	12,800	12,800
Information	21,800	21,900	21,000	19,700	19,400
Financial activities	43,300	44,700	45,100	43,600	42,300
Professional & business services	99,600	106,000	111,000	107,100	109,200
Educational & health Services	73,800	77,200	80,800	83,300	87,300
Leisure & hospitality	74,300	78,300	81,400	83,000	83,800
Other services	27,700	28,200	30,800	33,300	33,500
Government	152,000	156,600	162,100	166,900	170,500

Employment by Industry 2010

Note: Time series of annual and monthly numbers for these and additional workforce indicators are updated monthly on the Chamber's Economic Indicators page.
Source: Texas Workforce Commission.

Employment by Occupation

Employment by Occupation, Austin MSA

	2009
Total, all occupations	875,137
Management, professional & related occupations	368,848
....Management occupations	102,927
....Business & financial operations	47,031
....Professional & related occupations	218,890
.........Computer & mathematical	41,671
.........Architecture & engineering	23,458
.........Life, physical, & social science	8,742
.........Community & social services	12,855
.........Legal	13,027
.........Education, training, & library	55,611
.........Arts, design, entertainment, sports & media	23,974
.........Healthcare practitioners & technical	39,552
Service occupations	141,330
....Healthcare support	14,045
....Protective service	14,151
....Food preparation & serving related	53,383
....Building and grounds cleaning & maintenance	31,892
....Personal care & service	27,859
Sales & related occupations	109,167
Office & administrative support	111,762
Farming, fishing, & forestry occupations	1,782
Construction & extraction	58,931
Installation, maintenance & repair	23,995
Production	27,963
Transportation & material moving	31,359

Employment by Occupation 2009

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Average Occupational Wages & Salaries

Average Occupational Hourly Wages & Annual Salaries 2010

	Austin MSA		United States		Austin/ U.S.
	Wage	Salary	Wage	Salary	Austin/ U.S.
All occupations	$22.18	$46,130	$21.35	$44,410	104
Management	52.04	108,250	50.69	105,440	103
Business & financial operations	31.67	65,870	32.54	67,690	97
Computer & mathematical	39.88	82,960	37.13	77,230	107
Architecture & engineering	35.19	73,200	36.32	75,550	97
Life, physical, & social science	27.43	57,060	31.92	66,390	86
Community & social services	19.98	41,560	20.76	43,180	96
Legal	38.38	79,830	46.60	96,940	82
Education, training, & library	26.43	54,970	24.25	50,440	109
Arts, design, entertainment, sports & media	25.26	52,540	25.14	52,290	100
Healthcare practitioners & technical	32.05	66,650	34.27	71,280	94
Healthcare support	12.74	26,500	12.94	26,920	98
Protective service	19.92	41,440	20.43	42,490	98
Food preparation & serving related	9.55	19,870	10.21	21,240	94
Building & grounds cleaning & maintenance	11.03	22,950	12.16	25,300	91
Personal care & service	11.99	24,950	11.82	24,590	101
Sales & related	18.38	38,240	17.69	36,790	104
Office & administrative support	16.92	35,200	16.09	33,470	105
Farming, fishing & forestry	13.02	27,090	11.70	24,330	111
Construction & extraction	16.55	34,420	21.09	43,870	78
Installation, maintenance & repair	19.35	40,250	20.58	42,810	94
Production	15.14	31,490	16.24	33,770	93
Transportation & material moving	13.62	28,330	15.70	32,660	87

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) .
Note: Wage and salary estimates for detailed occupations are also available from the OES wage survey. (Nearly 500 unique occupations are reported for Austin.) The BLS also publishes an alternative occupational wage survey, called the National Compensation Survey, for Austin and other metropolitan areas that provides additional types of compensation measures.

Union Membership

	Employed workers who are union members			Employed workers who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement
	Austin MSA	Texas	U.S.	Austin MSA	Texas	U.S.
2010
Total	5.0%	5.4%	11.9%	5.6%	6.7%	13.1%
Private	2.1%	3.2%	6.9%	2.6%	4.0%	7.7%
Priv, Mfg	NA	7.6%	10.7%	NA	8.4%	11.6%
Public	20.7%	16.9%	36.2%	21.6%	21.0%	40.0%
2000
Total	3.0%	5.8%	13.5%	3.2%	7.4%	14.9%
Private	1.3%	3.8%	9.0%	1.3%	4.7%	9.8%
Priv, Mfg	NA	8.5%	14.8%	NA	9.8%	15.6%
Public	10.2%	16.3%	37.5%	11.3%	21.6%	42.0%

Source: Barry T. Hirsch & David A. Macpherson, Union Membership & Coverage Database from the Current Population Survey.

Workers' Compensation & Unemployment Insurance Costs

	Avg WC benefits per $100 of covered wages, 2006	Avg UI employer tax rate as a % of total wages, 2007	Avg UI employer tax rate as a % of taxable wages, 2007
Arizona	0.60%	0.34%	1.51%
California	1.38%	0.73%	4.17%
Colorado	0.93%	0.47%	1.77%
Georgia	0.79%	0.37%	1.54%
Illinois	0.96%	0.96%	3.74%
Massachusetts	0.57%	1.04%	3.56%
New York	0.72%	0.55%	3.48%
North Carolina	0.96%	0.81%	1.88%
Texas	0.44%	0.45%	1.91%
Utah	0.63%	0.52%	0.90%
Washington	1.63%	1.12%	1.97%
United States	0.99%	0.66%	2.44%

Sources: National Academy of Social Insurance and U.S. Employment and Training Administration.