Community Overview

February, 2005

The effects of the downturn in the economy on Austin and Travis County

ECONOMY:

LOCAL

• Generous builder incentives, low interest rates and a large inventory of speculative homes have enticed California investors to buy homes in the Austin area. Investors are buying new homes priced from $90,000 to the high $100,000s in subdivisions in Austin 's suburbs. (Austin American Statesman 1/23/05 )
• 12,582 houses were constructed in the five-county Austin area in 2004, up from 11,252 in 2003 , according to Metrostudy, which tracks the market. (Austin American Statesman 1/22/05 )
• 7.2 M travelers passed through Austin-Bergstrom Airport in 2004, up 8 percent since 2003 . (Austin American Statesman 1/25/05 )
• Austin ranks 32 nd on a list of the top 91 metropolitan areas for small business vitality. Austin takes credit for a 33% gain in the number of small businesses from 1997 to 2003, a sector that includes over 32,000 companies employing less than 100 people. ( Austin Business Journal 1/7/05 )

Back to Contents

STATE

Texas accounted for the second fastest-growing state in numerical terms (6 th by percentage) and was the second most populous state with 22.5 million people. With the second highest birth rate in the nation, Texas ’ population has grown 7.9% since 2000, compared to 4.3% for the nation. (Austin American Statesman 12/24/2004 ) Texas grew by about 387,000 people from 2003-2004 , 380,000 from 2002-03, 390,000 from 2001-02, and 480,000 people from 2000-01 according to the Texas State Data Center , the state census repository. TX sales tax collection is the highest in 3 years. http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/local

Back to Contents

NATIONAL

• The nation’s population grew by 1.0 percent (2.9 million people) between July 1, 2003 , and July 1, 2004 , to 293.7 million, according to estimates released in December 2004, by the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Women are the fastest growing segment of first-time homebuyers according to the National Association of Realtors. 18% of homebuyers are single women, 8% single men, and 9% unmarried couples. The average age for a first time homebuyer is 32, with an average income of $54,500 a year, making a payment of 3% on a $139,000 home. ( Austin Business Journal 1/7/05 )
• Increase in airport traffic across the nation is deceiving , as U.S. airlines declare 2004 the worst performance year in history with an estimated $7.5 B in losses. (Austin American Statesman 1/25/05 )

Back to Contents

EMPLOYMENT:

LOCAL

• In December 2004, there were 743,500 people employed in the Austin-San Marcos area with an unemployment rate of 4.0, down from last month in November, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. (http://www.tec.state.tx.us/news/press/2005/012105epress.pdf )

Back to Contents

STATE

• Statewide, the jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, increased to 5.8 percentin December from 5.7 percent in November. The state added 124,800 jobs in December at an annual rate of 1.3 percent. It's the highest number of jobs added since May 2001. (Austin American Statesman 1/22/05 )

Total nonagricultural employment in Texas increased by 7,000 jobs in December , making it the sixth consecutive month of job growth. Employment in education & health services increased by 3,900 jobs in December, after an addition of 1,200 jobs in November, for an annual growth rate of 2.9 percent. Employment in trade, transportation and utilities increased by 2,600 jobs in December, just as in November. Employment in natural resources and mining increased by 600 jobs in December. The Texas labor force added 58,000 people over the month and 119,900 over the year. (http://www.tec.state.tx.us/news/press/2005/012105epress.pdf)

Back to Contents

NATIONAL

• Both the number of unemployed citizens, 8.0 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.4 percent, were unchanged in December. The jobless rate has vacillated between 5.4 and 5.5 percent in each month since July 2004. The number of long-term unemployed, those unemployed 27 weeks or more, makes up 20.2% of all unemployed people and did not change in December.
• Total employment in December for the nation was 140.2 million people. Of employed citizens, 5.6% held more than one job. The number of multiple jobholders increased by 574,000 over the course of the year 2004. (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm)

Back to Contents

DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES

• In 2004, domestic migration accounted for 7.2% of state population growth, after having hit an all-time low of 4% in 2003. Domestic migration made up nearly 30 percent of Texas ' population growth during the 1990s and since 2000, on average, has accounted for 7.6% of total growth. (Austin American Statesman 12/24/2004 )
• Travis County ’s population is growing, but growing poorer, says the American Community Survey. Travis County has grown around 5.7% between 2000 and 2003, by about 45,313 new residents, and 14% of these residents are living in poverty. (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Profiles/Single/2003/ACS/Tabular/050/05000US484531.htm)

Back to Contents

DEMAND INDICATORS:

Basic Needs:

• Texas ranks third from last in food stamp participation, with 46% to 52% eligible persons participating says a study released by the Food Research and ActionCenter. ( http://www.frac.org)
  • Fifteen percent of households in Texas are considered food insecure.
  • In Travis County , there are 41,000 children under 18 that experience food insecurity every day.
  • Texas ranks second of all fifty states in the largest percentage of hungry families.
  • In Texas , there are more than 1.4 M children, nearly one in four (22%), living in poor families, 6% more than the national average.
• Between Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004, 2-1-1 Texas witnessed an 18% increase in the number of people requesting help with paying utility bills and a 24% increase in calls for rent assistance. (Basic Needs FAQ, C.A.N.)
• The Travis County Health & Human Services Department provided more than $750,000 in utility assistance and more than $600,000 in rent assistance during the 2004 fiscal year, but was unable to meet the demand for all services. (www.co.travis.tx.us)
• The City of Austin Health and Human Services department experienced a 60% increase in the distribution of food and clothing from the 2003 fiscal year to the 2004 fiscal year, totaling 122,820 units. (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/health)

Back to Contents

Housing:

• The U.S. Conference of Mayors released the results of its annual survey of hunger and homelessness .  The report, which includes data from 27 cities, indicates that the growth of homelessness may be slowing nationwide.
  • The average increase in requests for shelter dropped from 13 percent in 2002 , with 20 out of 25 cities reporting an increase, to 6 percent in 2003, with 19 out of 27 cities reporting an increase.  But among the cities, there was wide variation as some cities showed much larger increases in requests for shelter, while others showed fewer requests than in 2003.
  • In Boston , the Committee to End Elder Homelessness’ Elder Shelter to Home Program is providing comprehensive case management, housing search assistance and stabilization services to help elderly homeless individuals leave the streets with a 95 percent housing retention rate. 
  • The San Francisco Public Housing Authority prioritized rehabilitating units that have resulted in an expansion of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless families. (http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/hungersurvey/2004/onlinereport/HungerAndHomelessnessReport2004.pdf)
• Occupancy levels and rents in the Austin area increased in the fourth quarter, ending 2004 at the best level in four years. Companies leased 1.2 M more square feet of office space, equaling the first net gain in office space occupancy since 2000. Vacancy decreased to 20.9% from 31.4% in 2004. (http://recenter.tamu.edu/mreports/AustinSanM4.asp )
• The National Low Income Housing Coalition released the 2004 Out of Reach Report, finding that an affordable, modest, two-bedroom apartment is not viable for extremely low-income renters in metropolitan areas and impossible in all but nine counties throughout the United States .
  • In 70 percent of the country’s metropolitan areas the prevailing minimum wage was less than half of the “housing wage” – the wage deemed necessary for a single parent working 40 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent, without spending more than 30 percent of the family’s income on housing.  On average, this “housing wage” amounts to $15.37 per hour nationally, nearly three times the Federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour.
  • In Travis County , there were 155,643 renter households, or 49 percent of the 320,766 total Households. In the Austin-San Marcos area, renter households make up 42 percent of total households compared to 36 percent for the State of Texas .
  • The complete report is available at http://www.nlihc.org/oor2004

Back to Contents

Physical and Mental Health:

• The Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force Report was released in February. More than 80 individuals representing over 40 organizations helped to create an action plan for mental health service improvements in the community. The final report identified 39 criteria that address the cross-cutting issues of housing, treatment, justice and public information. For the full report, go to http://www.atcmhmr.com/about_us/MHTaskforce.pdf .
• Untreated mental health illnesses cost Texas $16.6 B a year. Texas is ranked 7 th for its overall mental health spending in 2002, giving $833 M to state mental health agencies while nursing a $10 B deficit. However, Texas ranked 49 th for per-capita spending. (Austin American Statesman 2/9/2005)
• A citizen of Travis County is seven times more at risk of suicide than homicide . Since August 2004 until February 2005, there have been seven homicides and 50 suicides in Travis County. (Austin Travis County MHMR Center, http://www.atcmhmr.com )
• Austin area hospitals recorded a 79% increase in the number of mental health patients between 2003 and 2004. In 2004, Austin’s five state hospitals accommodated 51 more patients than capacity allows. (Austin American Statesman 1/23/2005; http://www.icc-centex.org )
• As many as one in 10 doctors are starting their own private practices to avoid the hassle of insurance companies says the American Medical Association. With an estimated one in four Central Texans uninsured, the market for these cash-only medicine doctors is high. (Austin Business Journal 1/14/05)
• Nationally, the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children and adolescents in the past 30 years , according to a September report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. (http://www.iom.edu/report.asp?id=22596)
• Cancer replaced heart disease as the number one killer for people under 85 . Deaths from both diseases are falling, according to the American Cancer Society’s annual report. Lung cancer is the biggest killer, responsible for 163,510 deaths in 2004. (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MED/content/MED_1_1_Most-Requested_Graphs_and_Figures_2005.asp)
• As of September 2004, Texas enrollment in Medicaid for Travis County was 70,770 for all ages and 48,061 children between the ages of 0 and 18 enrolled. Last year in September 2003, there were 66,220 total Travis County enrollees and 45,255 children between the ages of 0 and 18 enrolled. (http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/research/dssi/db_search/cntysearch.asp)

CHIP enrollment decreased in Central Texas by 353 children since September 2004. (http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/research/CHIP/ChipDataTables.html) Education and Workforce Development For the third straight year, the Austin School District leads the state with more National Board Certified Teachers than any other school district in Texas. Nineteen Austin teachers have recently received National Board Certification, bringing to 67 the total number of National Board Certified Teachers in AISD.

• Currently 1.2 M students enrolled in higher education in Texas , short of the 1.6 M needed to meet the State’s goal of enrolling 5.7% of the population, as compared to the national average of 5.4%. Hispanic enrollment is the biggest challenge according to data; only 3.9% are enrolled. (Austin American Statesman 1/25/2005)

Back to Contents

Public Safety:

As of the end of January, Texas state prisons hold 150,575 inmates, operating at 97.3% capacity. The prison system considers 97.5% capacity to be full and unable to be safely exceeded. (Austin American Statesman 1/20/05) 400 trained Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers are currently serving 1,134 abused and neglected children in Travis County. However, 672 were unable to be served, representing 63% of those in need according to the domestic relations office. (CASA)

• Of 56,714 individuals booked for drug and alcohol charges from January to December 2004 in the Travis County area, the largest number were booked for non-substance abuse charges (55%), second for alcohol charges (29%), then drug charges (14%), and finally both alcohol and drug charges (2%).

Back to Contents

RESOURCES:

• Insure-a-kid was at the annual Coats for Kids Drive on Saturday, Dec. 11, to assist hundreds of families get, use and renew health insurance. Of uninsured families, 70% were found eligible for medical assistance programs. (http://www.insureakid.org )
• Travis County Housing Authority’s $35 M lease-purchase program allows Austin area individuals who have trouble making mortgages or down payments become homeowners . After 39 months of leasing the home of their choice, participants clear up their credit and may purchase the house by assuming a loan from the Housing Authority. (http://www.hatctx.com/programs.html )

• The Austin Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department won an award from the National Community Development Association for the Lyons Gardens senior housing project in East Austin, operated by Family Eldercare. The national award recognizes successful affordable-housing projects, such as this one, which offers 53 affordable rental units for low-income seniors aged 62 or older. (Austin American Statesman 1/20/05)
• The 3M Half Marathon in Austin in January 2005 raised $15,000 for the Capital Area Food Bank. This donation will account for about 7,500 free meals for needy families in Central Texas.
• Austin Energy donated $350,000 to the Opportunity Austin campaign , whose goal is to create 72,000 new jobs within the next 5 years, with an economic impact of $14 M. In December, Opportunity Austin had 234 investors, committing $12.8 M. (Austin Business Journal 1/14/05)
• Tom Joyner Foundation’s “School of the Month” scholarship campaign donated $134,000 to Huston-Tillotson College in October 2004. (The Villager 1/28/2005)
• In January 2005, the University of Texas at Austin opened a Gender and Sexuality Center as a resource to all students. (News 8 Austin 1/31/2005)
• Family Connections, in collaboration with Any Baby Can, will help provide support to Travis County’s at-risk infants and children with the $1.8 M awarded to them by the US Children’s Bureau. (Austin American Statesman 10/25/3004)
• After a $1 M loss in government, foundation and private funding, SafePlace, a Central Texas Shelter for battered women and rape victims, was forced to close its smaller facility in November 2004. ( http://events.austin-safeplace.org/site/DocServer/PressRelease_november_17_2004.pdf?docID=721 )

Back to Contents

LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

• Texas legislative session is heating up; look for updates in the next issue of this overview.

Back to Contents

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

• Choose a local social service agency to support financially.
• Copy and distribute this document to help increase public awareness.
• Support the local economy by shopping at local businesses.
• Give to the United Way Capital Area’s Community Fund or the Austin Community Foundation’s Urgent Issues Fund.
• Contact the United Way Capital Area’s Volunteer Center at 211 or search for volunteer opportunities on United Way Capital Area’s website at http://www.unitedwaycapitalarea.org.
• Also see the 2001 CAN Urgent Issues Action Plan and other documents at caction.org for additional information about community-wide approaches to addressing these issues in our community.

Back to Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Community Overview was researched and written by the Community Action Network, with assistance from numerous individuals in the community. We attempted to include all those who had a part in this undertaking, but if we have inadvertently omitted anyone, we apologize and ask that you inform us so that we may recognize you appropriately as the process continues.

LEAD WRITER:

Wendy Bradley, Community Action Network

CONTRIBUTORS:

Beth Atherton – Insure-a-Kid
Karen Cox – CASA
Korey Darling – Travis County HHS&VS, R&P Division
Marco Galvan – 2-1-1 Texas, United Way Capital Area
Leanne James – WorkSource
Meg Poag – Travis County HHS&VS,R&P Division
Mary Rychlik – City of Austin HHS
Glenda Shayne – Capital Area Food Bank
Brook Son – Travis County HHS&VS, R&P Division
Mildred Vuris – ATC MHMR Center
Fred Butler, Sam Woollard, – Community Action Network

COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK PARTNERS:

Back to Contents