As many Steiner Ranch residents know, one of the advantages to living near to Austin is the number of jobs the area has to offer. In fact, the Austin-Round Rock area is considered by many to be one of the best places to live for those who are interested in employment within the technology sector. Even with the current economic conditions, Austin has still managed to maintain a far more favorable unemployment rate than the national average. Furthermore, in terms of potential earnings, the average hourly earnings for employees in the area is continuing to move in an upward direction.
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the unemployment rate in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area increased to 7.6% during the month of January, but it fell to 7.2% in February. Although this is still high when compared to February of 2009, which the unemployment rate was 6.6%, it is still low when compared to the rest of the state as well as the national average. In fact, the statewide unemployment rate was 8.2% in February while the national unemployment rate sat at 9.7%.
In the Austin area, the transportation, trade and utilities sectors lost about 4,000 jobs when compared year-to-year, making it the industry where the greatest number of non-agriculture jobs was lost. The manufacturing industry, on the other hand, lost 2,900 jobs while the leisure and hospitality industry added the most jobs with a growth of 5,000 positions.
In addition to enjoying a lower unemployment rate when compared to the rest of the state and the nation, Steiner Ranch residents are also seeing their incomes increase despite the current economic troubles. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers who lived in the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area earned an average of $20.59 during the month of May 2009. In May 2008, the average hourly income for residents came in at $19.92. Those who worked on a full-time basis earned an average of $22.02 while part-time workers averaged $10.45 per hour. When broken down by industry, workers earned the following wages:
· Health care practitioners and technical occupations – $29.13 per hour
· Office and administrative support personnel – $15.98 per hour
· Food preparers and servers – $8.55 per hour
· Restaurant cooks – $9.93 per hour
The Bureau also found that those who worked for companies that employed 1-99 employees earned an average of $17.15, while those who were employed by companies with 100-499 workers earned $18.18 per hour and those who worked for companies that employed 500 people or more earned an average of $26.67 per hour.