Austin / Travis County Community Action Network

gap widened between workers in the bottom 20% of income earnings and those in the top 20%. In 1990, the top 20% of workers received 38.2 percent of the area 9s private-sector wages, but by 1999 this share had risen to 49.4%, while the share of the bottom 20% had fallen from 7.8 to 5.9%. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q : How many people are working in the Capital Area?<br><br> In April of 2002, 472,443 persons were employed in Travis County ( Texas Workforce Commission ). Q : How many people are unemployed in the Capital Area? In April of 2002, 27,342 persons were unemployed in Travis County leaving the unemployment rate at 5.5%.<br><br> Over 23,000 layoffs were reported in 2001 and an additional 1,400 between January 1 and February 20, 2002, resulting in an increased unemployment rate. From January of 2000 to January of 2002, the unemployment rate climbed from 2.5% to 5.7% (Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Texas Workforce Commission). Angelou Economics expects about 5,000 more layoffs before seeing a turn-around.<br><br> Frequently Asked Questions about Workforce Development Q : Which companies have laid off the most workers? Companies in the Computer & Peripherals and Semiconductors & Electronics industries (i.e. Dell, Solectron, Motorola, Applied Materials, and others) laid off more than 16,000 workers ( WorkSource- Greater Austin Area Workforce Board ).<br><br> Q : How many people are accessing assistance from the career centers? In 2001, career centers in Travis County received 148,507 customer visits . The WorkSource Greater Austin Area Workforce Board reported increased customer visits the first three quarters of 2001: January 3 March 26,541 April - June 37,698 July - September 42,217 October 3 December 42,051 Q : Has there been overall job growth in Austin?<br><br> Yes. Despite the economic downturn, the overall number of non-farm jobs increased by 3,400 in the last year (Austin-San Marcos MSA). While jobs in goods producing industries (e.g.<br><br> mining, machinery, construction) decreased by 6,200, the number of service producing jobs (e.g. retail, trades, health services) increased by 9,600. Types of Jobs Dec.<br><br> 2000 Dec. 2001 Difference % Change Service Producing 560,900 570,500 9,600 1.7% Goods Producing 129,000 122,800 -6,200 -4.8 Total (non-farm) 689,900 693,300 3,400 0.5% Within the Service industry, marked increases occurred in health services (2,300 new jobs, a 5.8% increase), retail (2,300 new jobs, a 1.9% increase), and eating/drinking establishments (1,400 new jobs, a 3.0% increase). Furthermore, the number of jobs in federal, state, and local government increased by 3.0% (4,100 jobs); local government jobs accounted for 3,200 new jobs within the government sector (Texas Workforce Commission).<br><br> Q : What are the major industries in Austin? Services/Other 30% FIRE 5% Retail Trade 16% State Govt. 11% Agri.<br><br> & Mining 1% Manufacturing 13% Local Govt. 8% Construction 5% Federal Govt. 2% Wholesale Trade 5% Transportation 4% The chart to the right shows employment by industry for the 4 th quarter of 2000.<br><br> The service , retail , government , and manufacturing (high- tech) industries are the major industries in Austin ( Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce ). Q: Which are the largest employers in Austin? The largest employer in Austin is The University of Texas at Austin with 20,211 local employees .<br><br> T he following is a list of the ten largest employers ( Source: Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce) : The University of Texas at Austin 20,211 IBM Corp 7,000 Dell Computer Corp 17,000 Seton 6,779 City of Austin 10,775 IRS/Austin 5,800 Austin Indep. School District 9,417 HEB Grocery 5,666 Motorola Inc. 9,000 Amer.<br><br> Plumbing & Mechanical 5,500 2 Frequently Asked Questions about Workforce Development Q : What are the fastest growing occupations? Jobs in teaching, healthcare and information technology fields are expected to increase in coming years. According to the Texas Workforce Commission , Texas will need : Over 82,000 new teachers by 2008, Up to 138,000 new licensed/registered nurses & nurses aides within the next seven to ten years, Up to 57,000 new systems analysts, database administrators, and computer support specialists within the next seven to ten years.<br><br> Q : What wages are paid in demand occupations? The chart below shows a comparison of annual average wages in the Austin-San Marcos MSA for 1998 (bottom bar) and 2000 (top bar) for demand and other occupations (Texas Workforce Commission). 0$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000$60,000$70,000$80,000 Child care workers Retail Salespersons Elementary school teachers Construction Managers Registered Nurses Database Administrators Electrical & electronic technicians Computer programmers Computer Engineers Q : What is the average wage?<br><br> Average Annual Wages, 2000 $41,335 $50,414 $23,794 $23,577 $- $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 TravisWilliamsonHaysBastrop In 2000, the average annual wage in Travis County was $41,335 , the second highest annual wage in Central Texas. The average annual wage in Travis County increased by 81% since 1990 when the average was $22,827. However, the loss of jobs in Austin's manufacturing sector, which accounts for the highest average annual wages per worker ($64,376 in 2000)) may impact average wages, especially in Williamson and Travis County where the larger manufacturing employers reside.<br><br> Q : Does Austin have a skilled workforce? Among other reasons, companies choose to relocate to Austin for its well-educated workforce, presence of a world-class research university (The University of Texas at Austin), and the ability to recruit, attract and retain high-quality personnel (Economy.com, 2001). The high number of patents issued in the Austin metropolitan area also demonstrates Austin 9s brainpower .<br><br> Austin ranked second to San Jose in the number of patents issued (Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce). Patent Comparison of Regions with High-tech Centers MSA 2000 Population # of Patents 2000 San Jose, CA 1,656,843 4,121 AUSTIN-San Marcos 1,164,548 1,913 Raleigh-Durham 1,123,453 1,011 Denver-Boulder 2,442,737 964 Seattle 2,372,461 855 Portland 1,875,375 789 Phoenix 3,087,019 735 Salt Lake City 1,304,294 353 3 Frequently Asked Questions about Workforce Development Q : How are laid off workers being assisted? WorkSource - Career Centers in Travis County have been providing assistance to job seekers such as access to job search tools and information, career counseling, case management, training, job leads and referrals, networking opportunities, and support services such as child care.<br><br> Community-based organizations such as Goodwill, Austin Area Urban League, Austin Academy, Capital Area Training Foundation, and Capital IDEA provide services to low-income populations. Furthermore, the City of Austin and WorkSource 3 Greater Austin Area Workforce Board developed a Virtual Career Center , an online tool for job seekers and employers to access employment-related services. This web-based resource, accessed through www.worksourceaustin.com or www.<br><br> virtualcareercenter.org , allows individuals, employers and organizations to access the workforce- related services currently available through the WorkSource - Career Centers from any Internet-ready computer. Services available through the Virtual Career Center will include: skills self-assessment, career information, skills-to-careers matching, job searches, resume posting, job posting, candidate searches, links to education and training providers, and links to additional community resources. Q: What can I do to help?<br><br> Get to know workforce development programs and refer people to those services. Contact the United Way Capital Area 9s Volunteer Center at 512-323-1898 or search for volunteer opportunities on United Way Capital Area 9s website at www.uway-austin.org . Please see the CAN Urgent Issues Action Plan at www.caction.org for additional information about specific and community-wide approaches to addressing workforce needs in our community.<br><br> Additional Information To access the 1999 CAN Community Workforce Development Assessment refer to: www.caction.org . To obtain a copy of this or any other CAN report, please visit the CAN offices, email Brenda Ahrns at bahrns@austin.isd.tenet.edu , call 512-414-8203, or write to The Community Action Network, 1111 W. 6th Street, Suite B220, Austin, Texas 78703.<br><br> For regularly updated current statistics across all issue areas please see The CAN Community Overview document at www.caction.org . For the most recent labor market information of the Capital area, refer to http://www.texasworkforce.org/lmi/lfs/type/profiles/wda/capitalareawda.pdf . For information on available workforce services, refer to www.worksourceaustin.com and United Way Capital Area's First Call for Help at 512-324-1899 or their online database <http://www.uway-austin.org/gethelp> .<br><br> For information on Greater Austin @ Work industry cluster initiatives, please refer to: www.austinchamber.org/Do_Business/Whats_Hot_Here/CATF_Clusters/ For information about this document, please contact Vanessa Martin-Sarria at the City of Austin, 512-972-5026, Vanessa.Martin-Sarria@ci.austin.tx.us or Lawrence Lyman at Travis County, 512-854-4278, lawrence.lyman@co.travis.tx.us . CAN Partners: Austin Area Research Organization ~Austin Independent School District ~Austin Area Human Services Association ~ Austin Area Interreligious Ministries ~ Austin Travis County MHMR Center ~ Capital Metro ~ City of Austin ~ Community Justice Council ~ Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce ~ Health Partnerships 2010 ~ Higher Education Coalition ~ Travis County ~ United Way Capital Area ~ WorkSource- Greater Austin Area Workforce Board 4

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