Forbes Ranks Austin Highly on Job Growth List - Names Austin an “Opportunity City”

Continuing its overall job growth since the Great Recession in 2008, Austin has seen a 3.1 percent job growth rate in 2014. The data appears in a recent report on “The Best Cities for Jobs 2015” in Forbes.com. Although the Austin job growth rate has dipped 1 percent from 2013, the overall strength of the job market and the affordability of homes for sale make Austin one of Forbes’ “opportunity cities.” Author Joel Kotkin, who penned the report about the list for Forbes, explained that 7 of the top 10 U.S. metro areas - including Austin - continue to show strong population growth because of abundant jobs paired with an affordable lifestyle.

Along with those attractive features of Austin’s real estate, there is the overall diversity of available jobs. Unlike cities such as Washington D.C. that have seen a boom and are experiencing plummeting job growth rates due to an economic focus on one or two key industries, Austin has been steadily making gains since 2008 because of its unique supply of various jobs for people of different skill sets. When a lot of people are able to find jobs during changing economic tides, then the economy has a stable workforce as a foundation.

To further illustrate Austin’s strong job market, data from the Texas Workforce Commission shows that jobless rates in March 2015 were at 3.3 percent - their lowest levels since 2007. In contrast, the National unemployment rate has been hovering around 5.5 percent for all of 2015, according to data from the National Employment Monthly Update. Austin’s continued decline in unemployment despite a slight dip in job growth since 2014 forecasts continued economic stability as the labor force flourishes and businesses continue to expand in the area drawn to the lure of an accommodating tax environment and ideal lifestyle offerings for their employees.