Overview
Among the region's strong assets is the Central Texas workforce, representing one of the most educated talent pools in the country. In the Austin metro, 44.8% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, compared to 32.0% nationally, putting Austin in the top 10 among the largest metros. The region benefits from over 50 colleges and universities and 400,000 enrolled students within a 100-mile radius. Our growing workforce is young and eager, with a median age that is over four years younger than that of the rest of the nation.
Spreadsheet version of data on Workforce pages
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Labor Force, Employment & Unemployment, 2017
LABOR FORCE | EMPLOYMENT | UNEMPLOYMENT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
NUMBER | RATE | |||
| Austin MSA | 1,152,626 | 1,116,938 | 35,688 | 3.1% |
| Bastrop Co. | 40,124 | 38,709 | 1,415 | 3.5% |
| Caldwell Co. | 18,406 | 17,694 | 712 | 3.9% |
| Hays Co. | 108,012 | 104,634 | 3,378 | 3.1% |
| Travis Co. | 698,755 | 677,830 | 20,925 | 3.0% |
| Williamson Co. | 287,330 | 278,071 | 9,259 | 3.2% |
Unemployment Rates
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin MSA | 5.7% | 5.2% | 4.2% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.1% |
| Texas | 6.7% | 6.3% | 5.1% | 4.4% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| U.S. | 8.1% | 7.4% | 6.2% | 5.3% | 4.9% | 4.4% |
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, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.