Prospects for the Austin Job Market - a recruiter's view

Yesterday it was announced that GDP in the US grew by 3.5% from July-September, which was a higher than expected post oficially signaling that the US economy is out of its recession. However, on a national scale we are hearing that unemployment rates remain high and will do for the forseable future. I thus wanted to briefly take a look at what this means for us as jobseekers and labor allocators here in Austin.

First, the good news:

1) Labor markets are geographically differentiated - which means unemployment rates are higher in different cities, states and for different positions. Austin was one of the last cities to enter the recession, which began in 2007, and will be one of the first to recover. Here at Kelly's office, we are finding we are getting orders from customers we weren't getting orders from 6 months ago. Our customer base is also broad and dynamic, showing us that more companies are hiring, and not just the old reliables.

2) Talent is still needed. Whilst we understand that there are many unfortuante exceptions right now, we are finding that applicants with good tenure and skill sets are attending multiple interviews, some with Kelly some outside of Kelly. In otherwords, there is still a level of demand for talent.

Now the not-so-brilliant news:

1) We are finding that there has been a particular decline in Manufacturing/warehouse work, which is being slow to recover. Administrative and marketing fields also remain highly competitive. Areas where there are still a high demand for labor are in Engineering and the Healthcare field (RN, Physician etc)

2) We are finding permenant positions still a little scarce, although better than 6 months ago! We are also setting ourselves for a tough holiday season, as company budgets reach their end.

The better news:

1) Temporary and contingent work is gathering pace. We also expect to see a rise in contingent work as seasonal needs arise. This will mainly been in the form of retail work, seminar work, and admin cover.

The great news:

1) Things ARE getting better, and we are with you on the front line. Austin is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic economies in America. Know that you are in the right place and work hard on at least 10 applications a day and work will come your way.