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, 2020
LABOR FORCE | EMPLOYMENT | UNEMPLOYMENT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
NUMBER | RATE | |||
| Austin MSA | 1,242,659 | 1,165,986 | 76,673 | 6.2% |
| Bastrop Co. | 42,573 | 40,016 | 2,557 | 6.0% |
| Caldwell Co. | 19,322 | 18,096 | 1,226 | 6.3% |
| Hays Co. | 121,304 | 113,639 | 7,665 | 6.3% |
| Travis Co. | 741,012 | 694,433 | 46,579 | 6.3% |
| Williamson Co. | 318,447 | 299,801 | 18,646 | 5.9% |
Unemployment Rates
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin MSA | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 2.7% | 6.2% |
| Texas | 4.5% | 4.6% | 4.3% | 3.9% | 3.5% | 7.6% |
| U.S. | 5.3% | 4.9% | 4.4% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 8.1% |
Labor force, Austin MSA
Employment Growth
Source: Texas Workforce Commission, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
Top 10 fastest growing large U.S. job markets, 2015-2020
Nonfarm payroll jobs
2015 | 2020 | GROWTH | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
NUMBER | RATE | |||
| Austin MSA | 963,300 | 1,086,100 | 122,800 | 12.7% |
| Phoenix MSA | 1,915,300 | 2,119,500 | 204,200 | 10.7% |
| Riverside MSA | 1,353,500 | 1,487,800 | 134,300 | 9.9% |
| Nashville MSA | 915,600 | 1,000,200 | 84,600 | 9.2% |
| Salt Lake City MSA | 675,600 | 736,700 | 61,100 | 9.0% |
| Jacksonville MSA | 646,100 | 704,300 | 58,200 | 9.0% |
| Dallas MDiv | 2,409,800 | 2,613,500 | 203,700 | 8.5% |
| Tampa MSA | 1,250,900 | 1,341,200 | 90,300 | 7.2% |
| Charlotte MSA | 1,110,900 | 1,190,700 | 79,800 | 7.2% |
| Fort Worth MDiv | 994,500 | 1,052,800 | 58,300 | 5.9% |
| United States | -- | -- | -- | 0.3% |
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.