According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the Austin Metro Area continued to expand in June, up 8,200 in June to 1.137 million. This marks the fifth straight month of expansion after a 9,900 job decline in January 2021. Setting aside the seasonality of job declines following the Christmas season each year, Austin has been expanding for 14 months, having gained 28,900 net new jobs since large declines of March and April 2020.
The positive picture is not without reservations. Prior to the pandemic, employment in Austin stood at 1.142 million in February 2020. This leaves another 5,400 jobs to go before reaching its February 2020 pre-pandemic level.
On a year-over-year basis, total job counts in the Austin MSA were 77,200 higher in June 2021 compared to June 2020. The June 2021 figures represented the second month in a row of year-over-year deceleration after peaking at 119,900 in April 2021. Year-over-year job growth slowed to 97,900 in May 2021, followed by 77,200 in June 2021.
Consistent with the just-mentioned year-over-year absolute growth in employment, the year-over-year percentage change employment figures are, unsurprisingly, decelerating, but still in strong expansion territory at 7.3%. As one of the hottest metro areas in the U.S., the Austin MSA continues to outperform the U.S., with year-over-year U.S. employment growth at 5.8%. Augustin has consistently outperformed the U.S. for many years, as shown in the following graphic.
Shifting to the Rural Capital Area, the employment picture, as measured by new unemployment insurance claims, continues to improve across most of the area. On the improvement front, claims in Burnet County are down 54% compared to the prior month (July vs. June), while claims in five other counties were down significantly as well: Fayette County (-25%), Blanco County (-20%), Bastrop County (-19%), Williamson County (-18%), and Hays County (-18%).
There were a few “sour” areas – counties with increasing unemployment insurance claims – including Lee County (8%), Caldwell County (8%), and Llano County (12%). The new claims in these counties were small on an absolute basis at 28 (Lee), 81 (Caldwell), and 38 (Llano).
