• Austin added 36,800 net new jobs, growth of 3.6%, in the 12 months ending in March, making Austin the fastest growing major metro.
• Wholesale trade was the fastest growing industry in the Austin MSA, increasing jobs by 12.6% (6,300 jobs) over the last 12 months. Professional and business services added the most jobs—13,600 (7.9% growth).
• Austin's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.0%, unchanged from February.

The Austin metropolitan area added 36,800 net new jobs, or 3.6%, in the 12 months ending in March, according to Friday's releases of preliminary payroll jobs numbers by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Austin’s 3.6% growth makes it the best performing among the 50 largest metro areas. Dallas, up 3.1%, also made the top 10, ranking seventh. Fort Worth (up 2.2%), Houston (up 2.1%), and San Antonio (up 1.8%) ranked 14^th, 17^th, and 20^th, respectively.

For the year ending in March, private sector job growth in the Austin MSA is 4.7%, or 39,700 jobs, with all private industry divisions adding jobs. Austin's sizable government sector (over 17% of jobs) saw jobs contract over the last 12 months, losing 2,900 jobs or 1.6%, thus bringing the overall job growth rate to 3.6%.

Texas saw net private sector job growth of 2.8% with all private industries, except one, adding jobs over the last 12 months. Total job growth was 2.4% as the government sector, which accounts for 16% of total state employment, was up by only 0.1%. For the nation, private sector growth is 1.8% for the 12 months ending in March with all private industries, but one, adding jobs. Overall job growth is a more modest 1.6% because government sector growth was essentially unchanged.

Jobs in March are up from the preceding month by 3,300 jobs or 0.3% in the not-seasonally-adjusted series for Austin. In the seasonally adjusted series, growth from February to March is 600 jobs or 0.1%. Seasonally adjusted jobs are up by 0.3% in Houston, 0.2% in Dallas and Fort Worth, but down 0.3% in San Antonio. Statewide, seasonally adjusted jobs are up 32,000 or 0.3%. Nationally, seasonally adjusted jobs are up 0.1% from February.

In Austin, the industry adding the most jobs is professional and business services, which grew by 13,600 jobs, or 7.9%, over the last 12 months. Wholesale trade grew fastest, at 12.6%, and added 6,300 jobs. Also growing at faster-than-average rates are transportation, warehousing and utilities (9.8% or 1,900 jobs) and construction and natural resources (5.5% or 3,300 jobs). Click here for graphs of the 2012-2018 growth rate trends for the major industry groups.

Statewide, construction and natural resources grew fastest, at 6.6%, and added the most jobs (60,400 jobs) over the last 12 months. The other relatively fast growing industries include transportation, warehousing, and utilities (4.8%); professional and business services (4.0%); and wholesale trade (4.0%). Jobs declined in information by 2.1%.

Nationally, construction and natural resources grew fastest, adding 4.2% over the 12 months ending in March. Transportation, warehousing, and utilities (2.8%) and professional and business services (2.5%) were also relatively fast growing. Information jobs fell by 1.9%.

The net gain for private service-providing industries in Austin is 34,100 jobs, or 4.7%, over the last 12 months. Employment in goods producing industries is up by 5,600 jobs or 4.8%. Statewide, private service-providing industries are up 209,700, or 2.5%, and goods producing industries are up 79,100 jobs, or 4.5%.

We also now have March labor force, employment, and unemployment numbers for Texas and local areas in Texas. The same data for all U.S. metros will not be released until May 2. In February, Austin had the fourth lowest rate of unemployment among the 50 largest metros.

Unemployment numbers for March show Austin’s performance relative to the state and other major Texas metros being sustained. In March, Austin is at 3.1%, while the other major metros range from 3.5% in San Antonio to 4.6% in Houston. Dallas and Fort Worth are both at 3.7%. Austin’s rate one year ago was 3.3%. The rates in Texas’ other major metros are also each below the rates seen a year ago. The statewide not-seasonally-adjusted rate is now 4.1%, down from 4.5% in March of last year. The national unemployment rate is 4.1%, improved from 4.6% in March 2017.

Within the Austin MSA, Travis County has the lowest unemployment rate in March, at 3.0%, while Caldwell County has the highest at 4.0%. The rate is 3.1% in Hays County, 3.2% in Williamson County, and 3.7% in Bastrop County.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Austin’s March unemployment rate is 3.0%, unchanged from February. The statewide seasonally adjusted rate is 4.0% and the national rate is 4.1% in March, both unchanged from February.

Among Texas’ major metros, San Antonio has the next lowest seasonally adjusted rate at 3.5%, Dallas and Fort Worth are at 3.6%, and Houston is at 4.7%. March rates are up from February in each metro except Fort Worth, which is unchanged. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for Texas metros are produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. (The TWC also produces seasonally adjusted rates for Texas metros, but publication lags the Dallas Fed’s data.)

With the decrease in Austin’s unemployment rate from one year ago, the number unemployed has also declined. In March 2017, Austin’s number of unemployed was 37,896. Over the last 12 months, the unemployed have decreased by 1,104, or 2.9%, to 36,792.

The Austin metro’s civilian labor force (employed plus unemployed) has increased by 3.9% or 44,862 persons from one year ago, while persons employed increased by 4.1% or 45,966. Texas has also seen greater growth in employed (2.8%) than labor force (2.3%), and the number unemployed decreased by 43,890 or 7.2%. Nationally, March civilian labor force is up by 1.0%, while employed is above the level of a year ago by 1.5%, and 613,000 fewer people (8.4%) are unemployed. Click here for graphs of the 2012-2018 growth rate trends for labor force and employment.

The Texas Workforce Commission will release April estimates on May 18.

The Chamber’s Economic Indicators page provides up-to-date historical spreadsheet versions of Austin, Texas and U.S. data for both the Current Employment Statistics (CES) and Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) data addressed above.

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