AUSTIN, Texas — The unemployment rate in Austin dropped to 3.8% last month, the lowest point since the start of the pandemic.
Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area employers added 1,400 jobs from July to August 2021, according to a press release from Workforce Solutions Capital Area. Austin’s unemployment rate in July was 4.2%.
From July to August, the Professional & Business Services, Education & Health Services and Trade, Transportation & Utilities industries saw the most “significant increase in regional job growth.”
The 3.8% represents 48,709 unemployed residents, according to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). In Travis County specifically, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.7% in August.
The Austin-Round Rock MSA includes Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays and Williamson counties. The area’s annual growth rate hit 6.7% from August 2020 to August 2021, according to the TWC.
Since August 2022, 72,100 jobs were created.
“Austin’s skilled workers are enjoying a bounty of career opportunities and we can assist with finding immediate employment,” Chief Executive Officer at Workforce Solutions Capital Area Tamara Atkinson said in a press release.
“Employers hiring across Central Texas are placing a premium on skilled talent,” Chair of the Board of Directors for Workforce Solutions Capital Area Melanie Flowers said in a press release. “For those residents who are motivated to take open positions but lack the necessary skills, Workforce Solutions Capital Area offers jobs search support, training and much more to connect local job seekers to good-paying employment opportunities in Travis County.”
The unemployment rate across both Texas and the U.S. is 5.3%.
Workforce Solutions is set to host both virtual and in-person job fairs within the next month.
An in-person fair for veterans is scheduled for Oct. 7 in partnership with the Texas Veteran’s Commission. The Texas HireAbility Capital Region Job Fair is set to take place virtually on Oct. 14 for people with disabilities.
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