Workforce 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, 46.2% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, compared to 33.1% 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, 2021
LABOR FORCE | EMPLOYMENT | UNEMPLOYMENT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
NUMBER | RATE | |||
| Austin MSA | 1,306,125 | 1,253,061 | 53,064 | 4.1% |
| Bastrop Co. | 45,101 | 43,084 | 2,017 | 4.5% |
| Caldwell Co. | 19,988 | 19,008 | 980 | 4.9% |
| Hays Co. | 129,600 | 124,271 | 5,329 | 4.1% |
| Travis Co. | 770,868 | 739,716 | 31,152 | 4.0% |
| Williamson Co. | 340,568 | 326,982 | 13,586 | 4.0% |
Unemployment Rates
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin MSA | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 2.7% | 6.2% | 4.1% |
| Texas | 4.6% | 4.3% | 3.9% | 3.5% | 7.7% | 5.7% |
| U.S. | 4.9% | 4.4% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 8.1% | 5.3% |
Labor force, Austin MSA
Employment Growth
Source: Texas Workforce Commission, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
Top 10 fastest growing large U.S. job markets, 2016-2021
Nonfarm payroll jobs
2016 | 2021 | GROWTH | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
NUMBER | RATE | |||
| Austin MSA | 1,000,900 | 1,165,700 | 164,800 | 16.5% |
| Riverside MSA | 1,401,900 | 1,569,100 | 167,200 | 11.9% |
| Phoenix MSA | 1,979,800 | 2,210,800 | 231,000 | 11.7% |
| Raleigh MSA | 595,600 | 660,500 | 64,900 | 10.9% |
| Nashville MSA | 950,900 | 1,052,800 | 101,900 | 10.7% |
| Dallas MDiv | 2,499,800 | 2,750,600 | 250,800 | 10.0% |
| Salt Lake City MSA | 698,400 | 767,800 | 69,400 | 9.9% |
| Jacksonville MSA | 668,400 | 732,900 | 64,500 | 9.6% |
| Fort Worth MDiv | 1,008,100 | 1,090,500 | 82,400 | 8.2% |
| Charlotte MSA | 1,150,000 | 1,243,800 | 93,800 | 8.2% |
| United States | -- | -- | -- | 1.2% |
Note: Ranking of the 50 largest metropolitan areas.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics.
Note: Time series of annual and monthly numbers for these and additional workforce indicators are updated monthly on the Chamber's Economic Indicators page.