ECONOMY
Updates on downtown’s recovery, job growth and more
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People ‘bet onAustin’ as downtown recovers
BY DARCY SPRAGUE
DOWNTOWN TRENDS UP
Data shows downtown Austin is recovering from the economic e ects of the pandemic.
By the end of 2020, restaurants were second guessing downtown; Easy Tiger, B.D. Riley’s Irish Pub, Counter Cafe and Austin Java all closed locations on Sixth Street, North Lamar Boulevard and Second Street. In all, at least 92 businesses closed their doors down- town since the start of the pandemic, according to the Downtown Austin Alliance. But between February and September 2021, 64 new businesses opened, according to the DAA. The future is looking bright for the area, said Jenell Mo ett, associate vice president of the DAA. “People just seem to bet on Austin,” Mo ett said. “These spaces were resilient; those businesses were resilient because Austin came together.” The hotel occupancy rate downtown was at 45.6% in December 2021, closer to the 2019 baseline of 76.2% than the low point of 3.9% in 2020, according to DAA data. Weekend foot tra c on Congress Avenue slightly surpassed the pre-pandemic baseline in December 2021, according to the data, which measured 45,300 people in the recent count. That number dropped to 7,000 during the worst parts of the pandemic.
2019
2020
2021
Local musicians are eligible for city grants. (Courtesy Renee Dominguez)
Hotel occupancy
O ce occupancy
Consumer spending*
Austin o ers music industry support Hundreds in the music industry were able to apply for $2,000 grants in January as part of the city’s COVID-19 relief program. This is the second phase of the Austin Music Disaster Relief Grant program, which kicked o in 2020. The funding will come from more than $2 million of the federal relief money the city received through the American Rescue Plan Act. Austin saw positive GDP growth in 2020 A report from the Austin Chamber of Commerce shows that Austin and San Jose, California, were the only two major metropolitan areas in the U.S. to see positive gross domestic product, or GDP, growth in 2020. The data indicates that despite COVID-19 hitting in early 2020 and Austin entering a series of lockdowns and strict safety measures, the economy as a whole not only remained strong, but grew.
*COMPARED TO THE BASELINE OF JAN. 2020
SOURCE: COSTAR COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
“[Downtown Austin’s resilience] says something unique about Austin. Everyone is not experiencing what we are experiencing,” Mo ett said. However, Mo ett said she feels the area is trending in the right direction. In 2022, she said she hopes to see continued recovery and an increased focus on a ordability and equity across the city and in downtown particularly.
Economic growth drives need for skills
As more middle- and high-skill jobs come to the city, and as the area becomes increasingly expensive to live in, lower-skilled employees may not see the bene ts of a good economy, Atkinson said. “We are seeing wages rise, but they’re not keeping up with the cost of living yet,” Atkinson said. She said the lesson of 2021 is education means greater economic resilience for most workers. “In this hiring environment where workers really need [to be] skilled employees, we can’t a ord to leave anyone behind,” she said.
AUSTIN EMPLOYMENT Austin’s job market is tight as unemployment remains low and more jobs come to the area.
BY DARCY SPRAGUE
AUSTIN’S ECONOMY KEEPS PACE
While Austin’s economic future for 2022 looks bright after a strong year in 2021, local o cials and experts are worried the lower-skilled employees are being left behind in the growth. “There really are two words that are top of mind for me in 2022, and that is ‘skills gap,’” said Tamara Atkinson, head of Workforce Solu- tions Capital Area.
24,436 2.9% NEWJOBS
were posted in the Austin Metro in December 2021
Austin's real GDP GREWBY 1.2% in 2020 Austin had the SECONDHIGHEST rate of real GDP growth in the U.S.
of Austin residents were unemployed in December
SOURCES: TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS CAPITAL AREA, U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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