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Austin unemployment rate continues to decrease, hits another pandemic low

The Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Area's unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in September.

AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin-Round Rock metro area’s unemployment rate hit 3.5% in September, according to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

This is a drop from 3.8% in August. The September number represents 45,968 unemployed residents, the lowest since the start of the pandemic.

From August 2021 to September 2021, 12,900 jobs were created in the Austin metro area. The government, leisure and hospitality, education and health services and financial activities industries experienced a “significant increase” in growth, according to a press release from Workforce Solutions Capitol Area.

Since September 2020, the region gained 79,700 jobs, resulting in an annual growth rate of 7.4%.

“Austin is a top performer for job growth when compared to other U.S. metros,” Tamara Atkinson, chief executive officer at Workforce Solutions Capitol Area, said in the release. “Residents here have an abundance of career opportunities available, but those with the right skills will have the advantage to secure the region’s higher-paying, in-demand jobs.”

Specifically, TWC reports say unemployment in just the Austin-Travis County area also dropped to 3.5% in September from 3.7% in August. According to the release, 26,886 residents were unemployed.

The Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area includes parts of Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.

The metro’s September unemployment rate is lower than both the State of Texas and the U.S. Texas’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.9% and the U.S. hit 4.6%.

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