Opportunity Austin
Five County Initiative for Job Creation in Central Texas
Opportunity Austin was a five-year, five-county economic development initiative aimed at fostering job-creating investment in Central Texas. Launched in 2004, this regional strategy aimed to create 72,000 regional jobs and increase regional payroll by $2.9 billion. To implement the strategy, the regional business community committed to invest $14.4 million.
Opportunity Austin has registered solid success. Regional employment growth has surpassed even the most optimistic scenarios. Since 2004, an estimated 123,400 new jobs have been added to Austin's regional economy. Regional payroll increased by $5.6 billion. Per capita income and average annual wages also increased.
Job and wage increases projected in the next five-year implementation cycle of Opportunity Austin show a net gain of over 117,000 jobs and a $10.8 billion increase in greater Austin's total payroll.
Opportunity Austin 2.O
The most competitive communities are those with a steadfast commitment to improving their work force, quality of life and business climate through aggressive, proactive programming. The professional staff at the Austin Chamber of Commerce knows that boosting the greater Austin economy is our number one priority and our Opportunity Austin 2.0 action plan works aggressively to ensure the economic prosperity for Central Texas through job growth and creation.
Working with Market Street, an independent firm focusing solely on community and economic development issues, we are specifically targeting five industries for growth: convergence technologies, creative media, green industries, corporate/professional headquarters/offices, healthcare and life sciences.
Among the target-related infrastructure developments we are actively supporting: prioritizing the funding, development and construction of a top-tier medical school in Austin and securing the development of the TxAN research lab in Central Texas.
To learn more about Opportunity Austin, contact Mike Rollins, President, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, at 512.322.5615 or Dave Porter, Senior Vice President, Economic Development, at 512.322.5650
Seven out of Ten consumers believe being actively involved in the Chamber is an effective strategy for enhancing a company’s reputation and for demonstrating that it uses good business practices (Shapiro).
