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, 46.6% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, compared to 32.6% 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, 2018
LABOR FORCE | EMPLOYMENT | UNEMPLOYMENT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
NUMBER | RATE | |||
| Austin MSA | 1,190,773 | 1,156,064 | 34,709 | 2.9% |
| Bastrop Co. | 41,423 | 40,038 | 1,386 | 3.3% |
| Caldwell Co. | 18,990 | 18,303 | 687 | 3.6% |
| Hays Co. | 111,605 | 108,286 | 3,319 | 3.0% |
| Travis Co. | 721,943 | 701,664 | 20,279 | 2.8% |
| Williamson Co. | 296,812 | 287,774 | 9,039 | 3.0% |
Unemployment Rates
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin MSA | 5.2% | 4.2% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| Texas | 6.6% | 5.1% | 4.4% | 4.6% | 4.3% | 3.9% |
| U.S. | 7.4% | 6.2% | 5.3% | 4.9% | 4.4% | 3.9% |
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.