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, 2019
LABOR FORCE | EMPLOYMENT | UNEMPLOYMENT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
NUMBER | RATE | |||
| Austin MSA | 1,237,444 | 1,204,375 | 33,069 | 2.7% |
| Bastrop Co. | 42,900 | 41,609 | 1,291 | 3.0% |
| Caldwell Co. | 19,669 | 19,011 | 658 | 3.3% |
| Hays Co. | 119,874 | 116,574 | 3,300 | 2.8% |
| Travis Co. | 741,101 | 722,054 | 19,047 | 2.6% |
| Williamson Co. | 313,899 | 305,127 | 8,772 | 2.8% |
Unemployment Rates
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin MSA | 4.2% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 2.9% | 2.7% |
| Texas | 5.1% | 4.4% | 4.6% | 4.3% | 3.8% | 3.5% |
| U.S. | 6.2% | 5.3% | 4.9% | 4.4% | 3.9% | 3.7% |
Employment, Austin MSA
Employment Growth
Source: Texas Workforce Commission, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
Top 10 fastest growing large U.S. job markets, 2014-2019
Nonfarm payroll jobs
2014 | 2019 | GROWTH | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
NUMBER | RATE | |||
| Austin MSA | 923,000 | 1,116,000 | 193,000 | 20.9% |
| Orlando MSA | 1,108,900 | 1,327,100 | 218,200 | 19.7% |
| Riverside MSA | 1,290,400 | 1,541,800 | 251,400 | 19.5% |
| Nashville MSA | 880,300 | 1,047,900 | 167,600 | 19.0% |
| Phoenix MSA | 1,853,100 | 2,177,300 | 324,200 | 17.5% |
| Las Vegas MSA | 883,600 | 1,034,100 | 150,500 | 17.0% |
| Raleigh MSA | 559,800 | 650,100 | 90,300 | 16.1% |
| Jacksonville MSA | 623,900 | 724,400 | 100,500 | 16.1% |
| Charlotte MSA | 1,066,100 | 1,235,500 | 169,400 | 15.9% |
| Salt Lake City MSA | 653,300 | 754,300 | 101,000 | 15.5% |
| United States | -- | -- | -- | 8.6% |
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.