Tagged : Economy

One of the biggest draws to living in the Austin area is the fact that employment opportunities are quite abundant when compared to many other metropolitan areas throughout the country. While there is no doubt that Austin unemployment rates did take a bit of a hit during these difficult economic times, the city has managed to do quite well when compared to national averages and even when compared to the rest of the state. Furthermore, according to some data recently released by the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment rates in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area are only getting better.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment rates in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area jumped from 7% in December to 7.6% in January. Things got…

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment levels within the Austin and Round Rock area fell by 6.9% in November. While this is still up from the 4.9% rate that the area was experiencing just one year ago, it does represent a decline in unemployment when compared to the previous month.

Previous data indicated that the unemployment rate in the Austin and Round Rock area was 7.2% in October. Compared to the state average of 7.9%, the Austin and Round Rock area is doing quite well with its 6.9% rate. This pattern remains true to the rates from the previous month, with the statewide unemployment rates being at 8.1% in October compared to the 7.2% rate of the Austin and Round Rock area. Similarly, the state had a 5.4% unemployment rate one month

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According to the most recent Beige Book survey to be released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, economic conditions in the state of Texas are showing signs of improvement. In fact, the report found that economic conditions through November had "firmed" and that a number of industries are showing signs of improvement.

The Beige Book survey, which is conducted on a periodic basis and evaluates the economic conditions of the Federal 11th district that includes Central Texas, found that the paper, high-tech manufacturing, housing, staffing, energy and petrochemicals industries are all showing signs of improvement. Furthermore, the Dallas Fed's Index of Leading Indicators is also showing that an economic recovery is starting to develop in Texas.

"The only

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 A recent report released by RealtyTrac Inc, which is a foreclosure seller based in Irvine, California, has found that the national foreclosure rate has gone down by 8% in November when compared to the previous month. On the other hand, the housing market still has a long way to go before it can be considered recovered, as the foreclosure rate is still a disheartening 18% higher than it was just one year ago.

According to the report, which was released in November of 2009, there have been 306,627 foreclosure filings this year. This includes scheduled foreclosure auctions as well as bank repossessions and default notices. More specifically:

•    Default notices were down 8% when compared to the previous month, but up 22% when compared to November of 2008

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According to Mark Dotzour, who is the director of Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center, it looks as if the state of Texas may have reached the bottom of its housing market a few months back. As such, he is ready to proclaim the inventory of homes through Texas - both unsold new homes and existing homes - are in a promising position.

“I feel now is the time to buy a house in most Texas cities,” said Dotzour through RECON, which is the center’s online newsletter “Housing affordability has never been higher, and I never thought I would see 5 percent mortgages in my lifetime. If you plan to live in the house for at least two or three years, now is the time to buy.”

Dotzour isn't the only one who sees a positive upswing in the economy's future. In fact,

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