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Employers in the Austin metropolitan area added more than 8,000 workers to their payroll last month as the area’s economic recovery continues to accelerate as the coronavirus pandemic subsides.
According to seasonally adjusted figures released Friday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the local unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in June. That was a 4.6% decline in May and was the fourth straight monthly decline.
Economists described the development of the unemployment rate as significant, but said that the strong growth in employment reflects the conditions in the region even better on the ground. This is because the regional workforce has increased as more people decide that the time is right to look for work or move to the area for opportunities, which affects how the unemployment rate is calculated.
More:The Texas Workforce Commission targets “systemic problems” as millions are still seeking unemployment benefits
“Ultimately, what matters is how many people out there get jobs, make money and put bread on the table,” said Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics in Austin.
“Almost every sector of the (local) economy absolutely rocks,” Schenker said of job creation. “We’re going in the right direction.”
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According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the Austin metropolitan area – which includes Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties – created 8,200 non-farm jobs in June and 77,200 in the last 12 months.
The Austin area shed about 130,000 jobs in the first two months of the pandemic in March and April last year, as the economy was in a tailspin nationwide and nationwide. However, by April this year, it had restored about 90% of those lost jobs, the Dallas Fed previously reported.
According to the Workforce Commission figures, around 1.13 million people were employed outside of agriculture in the region last month.
Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, said the Austin area’s economy is changing in the face of constraints such as the rising cost of office space and land in the area and an increasingly tight labor market.
“It would be hard to go any faster,” said Rodriguez. “Everything in Austin is really pushing towards (economic) growth.”
More:Jobless claims in Texas are falling to near pandemic lows as the economy recovers
The local unemployment rate was routinely below 3% before the pandemic, but rose to 12.7% and 12.7%, respectively, in April and May of last year, after seasonal adjustment. In June last year it was 8%.
Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.5% last month, up from 6.6% in May and 10.2% in June 2020. The nationwide rate reached 12 in April last year at the height of the pandemic-induced economic freeze. 9%.
The latest local and statewide unemployment figures do not include the potential impact of Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to stop the state from participating in federal government pandemic-related relief programs, including support for self-employed workers such as gig workers and a $ 300 per week surcharge.
Abbott discontinued programs on June 26 – in response to complaints from some business groups that companies were having difficulty finding sufficient workers while the enhanced benefits were in place – so the move was not reflected in June unemployment rates. Two groups of Texans organized through Facebook have filed a lawsuit to try to restart the programs.
Regardless, a number of economists do not expect Abbott’s move to result in much additional job growth and retirement of older people.
“Certainly (Abbott’s) intention was to accelerate the return to work,” said Rodriguez. “My guess is you may not see much of a change. There are many other reasons.” Workers haven’t claimed all vacancies, aside from improved federal benefits.
Schenker said the main driver of sustained job growth and the overall economic recovery could be summed up in a single word – vaccinations.
“If you are worried about the economy, encourage everyone you know to get vaccinated,” he said.
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