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A review of this month's indicators shows that although the unemployment rate remains higher than at any time in the last 10 years, the economy in Travis County is beginning a slow recovery. Unemployment decreased slightly again this month, and although job loss has slowed when compared to last year, large layoffs are occurring this month. At the same time, we still see an increased demand for social services when compared to last year. Those hardest hit by the economic downturn have not begun to see an improvement in their personal financial conditions.
Items highlighted with blue text are new for this month.
ECONOMY:
- Despite a projected increase in demand for services this summer, the City of Austin will be closing each branch library for one day each week beginning June 3rd. This is projected to save the city $323,000 over the year, part of efforts to offset a $72 million projected shortfall in next year’s city budget. Property tax rates are also projected to increase to help cover the shortfall (Austin American-Statesman).
- The state is facing more than $300 million in unexpected social service and health-care costs in 2002-2003 because of the weakening economy and growing demand for public services (Austin American-Statesman). More than 31% of the state’s $113.8 billion budget goes to social services, more than any other area except education. However, Texas ranks near the bottom in the nation in per-capita social service spending.
- Builders started construction on 2,231 new homes in Central Texas from January through March, 2002, a 26% drop from the same months last year.
- Jon Hockenyos, an economist with Texas Perspectives, doesn't expect to see a rebound in the economy until later this year (Austin American-Statesman).
EMPLOYMENT:
- § New Census figures released show that the median family income in the Austin area (including Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties) rose 22% to $59,426, the largest increase of any metro area in Texas. The statewide median family income is $45,861.
- § According to an Economic Outlook Survey released on May 14th, 47% of Central Texas employers plan to increase their workforces during the third quarter of 2002, and none of the companies responding to the survey forecast reductions (Austin Business Journal).
- Although job creation has exceeded layoffs, Angelou Economic Advisors reported 23,000 layoffs in 2001.
- The Travis County unemployment rate rose slightly from 5.4% in March to 5.5% in April. The March Travis County unemployment rate was better than the State’s April unemployment rate of 5.6%.
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- Between January 1 and April 22, 2002, 1,942 people were laid off in the greater Austin area (WorkSource).
- AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) announced in early May that they will lay off 800 chip manufacturing workers in Austin. They will also be notifying an additional 200 workers that their jobs will be eliminated. AMD's Austin employment has dropped from more than 4,000 a year ago to about 3,000 people (Austin American-Statesman).
- The Central Texas job market added about 3,000 jobs in March - 1,000 of which were temporary positions at stores and restaurants for South by Southwest, the Star of Texas rodeo, and sporting events. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service hired 400 workers for tax season, and about 300 construction jobs were added (Austin American-Statesman).
- § WorkSource Career Centers received 15,300 visits in April 2002, for an average of 685 visits a day. In 2002 there have been 59,175 customer visits to the centers, indicating that demand for employment assistance remains high (Worksource). WorkSource Career Centers received 148,507 customer visits in 2001, averaging 12,376 visits per month.
- The struggling economy has forced the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce to reduce expenses by cutting 20% of its staff and requiring remaining employees to take days off without pay. The Chamber is also moving its offices from Congress Avenue this fall to cut expenses.
- The University of Texas at Austin's College of Engineering and the McCombs School of Business, which account for about a fourth of all UT graduates, experienced a 35% decrease in the number of combined on-site recruiters this year. In the College of Natural Sciences, the total number of job interviews plummeted 54% to 1,210 (Austin American-Statesman). Nationally, hiring out of college has declined more than 36% in the last year (National Association of Colleges and Employers). Exceptions to the labor market decline are teachers and nurses, occupations which continue to be in great demand.
COST OF LIVING:
- § According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the hourly wage (at 40 hours per week) needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment at the current Fair Market Rent is $17.06 in Travis County.
- § The Travis Central Appraisal District reported that property appraisals in East Austin rose faster than in any other part of town. On average, valuations of single-family homes in Travis County rose 8% to $212,798 during 2001 (Austin American-Statesman).
- Despite legislative approval of a pay raise for state employees, a slow economy is keeping the raises from occurring. The state would need an additional $191 million by September to make the raises possible.
- In the Austin-San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), 28.8% of the jobs (186,360) have a median hourly wage of less than $10. The Center for Public Policy Priorities indicates that a single adult with no children needs to earn at least $10/hour in order to secure basic necessities. However, a single parent with one child needs to earn a minimum of $17/hour ($33,819/yr). For a family of two parents and two children, the Austin-San Marcos MSA is the most expensive metropolitan area in the state in which to live.
- Results of a first-quarter survey by PMI Mortgage Insurance Company indicate that the Austin-San Marcos region tops a national ranking of areas most likely to see home values decline more than 10% in the next two years. PMI's analysts said Austin has about a 15% chance of experiencing such a drop. However, local economist Jon Hockenyos predicts that the median home price will, at most, level off after rising steadily for more than a decade.
- The Center for Community Change conducted a study showing that lower-income black people are 2.4 times more likely to receive high-cost/subprime loans than lower-income white people. Upper-income black people are three times more likely to receive subprime loans than their white counterparts. Austin was ranked ninth nationally with 63% of all black loan takers receiving subprime loans (Austin American-Statesman).
DEMAND INDICATORS:
Housing, Homelessness, Basic Needs:
- § 2000 Census data shows that the Austin area has the highest median rent ($721) of any metropolitan area in the state. 41% of Travis County renters spend more than 30% of their gross income on rent. In comparison, 20.6% of homeowners spend more than 30% of their gross income on monthly owner costs. According to HUD, housing costing more than 30% of gross income is unaffordable.
- § Census data also shows that 1,590 households lack complete plumbing facilities, 2,317 lack complete kitchen facilities, and 6,426 do not have telephone service.
- § On May 13th, President Bush signed the 2002 Farm Bill, which includes significant improvements in the Food Stamp Program. The Bill simplifies enrollment in the Food Stamp Program, increases benefits for larger families, restores benefits to many legal immigrants, reforms the Quality Control system by which state performance is evaluated, and authorizes an increase in funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (Center for Public Policy Priorities).
- In 2001, Family Eldercare experienced a 31% increase in bill payer cases; a 35% increase in Case Management cases; a 48% increase in general calls for assistance (central intake services); a 30% increase in In-home Care cases; and a 16% increase in Eloise's House Day Respite clients. The average wait for Bill Payer services is 3 months and 24 people are currently on the waiting list. Similarly, the average wait for Guardianship services is 11 months, and 34 people are on the waiting list. In addition, it is estimated that 20 older adults are turned away per year from the Elder Shelter due to lack of space.
- In the first quarter of 2002, the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) had a waiting list of 2,117 families for Public Housing and 6,026 families for Section 8 Housing. Compared to the first quarter of 2001, the waiting list for Public Housing decreased by 16%, but the waiting list for Section 8 Housing increased by 823%. The wait for Public Housing is 6 to 18 months depending upon the number of bedrooms required. The wait for Section 8 Housing may be a year or longer. HACA will not accept applications for the Section 8 Waiting List after May 31, 2002.
- A recent Supreme Court ruling upheld the right of public housing authorities to evict families for drug-related criminal activity even when the leaseholders may be unaware of the criminal actions of household members or guests. Among those expressing concern over the ruling were advocates against domestic violence who are wary of placing the burden of controlling the behavior of household members and guests on those who may be victims of domestic violence.
- Austin Area Interreligious Ministries' Hands on Housing program gathered almost 500 volunteers to work on 30 homes in the Rosewood neighborhood during the weekend of April 20th.
- The majority of states have seen welfare caseloads increase since the beginning of the recession and September 11th (Center for Law and Social Policy). For the first time since TANF was implemented, the average annual change in states' caseloads reflected an increase. TANF caseloads increased between September and December, 2001 in 40 of 50 states, rising over 4% in one quarter on average.
- A recent report released by The Sentencing Project estimated that 92,000 women in 23 states were denied TANF assistance and services due to a prior drug felony conviction.
Physical and Mental Health:
- § Survey results released on May 14th show that Americans are much more likely to report problems securing access to healthcare due to cost, in comparison to four other industrialized nations, including the UK, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia (Reuters).
- A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that emergency room visits in the US increased by 14% from 1997 to 2000, emergency room waiting times for patients with less urgent problems increased by 33%, and 90% of emergency rooms at large hospitals are at or above capacity for treating patients. Possible causes include nursing shortages, a lack of on-call specialists, a shortage of inpatient beds resulting from workplace shortages, and inadequate reimbursement from Medicare and private insurers. Emergency room closings also contributed to crowding pressures.
- § In the first three months of 2002, Travis County emergency rooms were closed 1,447 hours to at least some ambulance patients – an increase of more than 100% from 2001 and the worst year on record. At the area’s only level 2 Trauma Center, the Brackenridge ER, about 20% of patients come from outside Travis County. Brackenridge Emergency serves an average of 350 patients a day. Since 1995, the number of patients being served by the ER has gone up about 80% (KXAN-TV).
- A nationwide shortage of nurses that has existed since the late 1990s is expected to worsen over the next 20 years (Austin American-Statesman). While Texas is growing more than twice as fast as the rest of the nation. We rank 46th in the nation in registered nurses per 100,000 residents, making the shortage especially problematic.
- Urgent Care Plus, an "immediate care" clinic with 10 treatment rooms, is set to open May 6th in far Northwest Austin. Urgent Care Plus hired between 15 and20 employees to staff the facility.
- 152,709 people in Travis County do not have health insurance, approximately 23.6% of the total population. Nationally, 14% of the population does not have health insurance. 21.4% of the Texas population does not have health insurance, tying with New Mexico as the states with the highest percentage of uninsured people in the nation (U.S. Census Bureau, September 2001). According to the Austin/ Travis County Health and Human Services, Indigent Care Collaboration CHIP Outreach Coalition, Travis County has 20,081 children under age 19 who are uninsured.
- A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that one in three countries spend less than 1% of their national health budgets on mental health. According to the report, the US spends between 5% and 10% of their total health budget on mental health.
Transportation:
- § According to new Census figures, 3.7% of Travis County residents use public transportation, fewer than in Harris County where 4.1% use public transportation, but higher than the Texas average of 1.9%. 13.6% of Travis County residents carpool, remaining relatively unchanged since the 1990 census. The average commute time in Travis County was 23.6 minutes, the third longest time in the State, only surpassed by Houston and Dallas.
- § In Travis County there are 21,840 (6.8%) households where no vehicles are available (U.S. Census Bureau).
Education:
- § 2000 Census data shows that 37% of Austin area residents age 25 and older hold bachelor’s degrees, tying with Bryan-College Station for the greatest proportion in the state. The Austin area also has the greatest proportion (85%) of high school graduates among those age 25 and older, compared with 76% statewide.
- § Although the teacher shortage appears to be worsening statewide, the Austin and Round Rock school districts say that except for special and bilingual education teachers, they have plenty of applicants this year (Austin American-Statesman).
- § Lamar Middle School earned the National Blue Ribbon Award, an honor shared by only 25 schools in Texas and 172 campuses nationwide.
- § Nationwide, about 31% of special education students 14 or older drop out each year. In Texas, about 6% drop out, 5% drop out in the Round Rock Independent School District, and 14% drop out annually in the Austin Independent School District (Education Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services).
- § Blackshear Elementary School showed favorable state test results, with 80% of its students passing this spring’s Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Passing rates increased from 15 to 46 percentage points in reading, writing, and math (Austin American-Statesman).
- The Board of the Austin Independent School District recently approved a blueprint to improve six schools (Blackshear, Harris, Oak Springs, and Sims Elementaries and Pearce and Dobie Middle Schools) in East and Northeast Austin. The plan includes replacing five of the six principals, changing the reading curriculum, adding money and resources to the schools, providing more training for teachers, and using only certified, experienced teachers. The plan has startup costs of about $1 million.
- Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test scores are up. A record 85% of 10th graders in Texas passed the test this year.
Childcare:
- § The 2000 Census shows that there are 6,230 households in Travis County where a grandparent is responsible for caring for their grandchildren.
- The Fund for Child Care Excellence has been established, and will recruit and train workers in the childcare field for free, providing them with five times the amount of training required by the state. Training is scheduled begin in August. The Dell Foundation has committed $3 million over the next three years toward this effort (Austin American-Statesman).
Public Safety:
- According to a January 23rd Austin American-Statesman article, the total number of indexed crimes were 23% higher in December of 2001 than they were in December of 2000. Auto theft (+50%), burglaries (+35%), robberies (+24%), and property thefts (+19%) all increased in Austin over the past year. At the same time, the number of arrests fell 6%. There were five murders in Austin in December of 2001 compared to three in December of 2000.
- In late September 2001, the Austin Police Department created a separate patrol area for downtown, which doubled the number of officers on duty during peak crime periods (usually weekend nights). In the six months since the change, arrests and reports of crime downtown have decreased, even as the crime rate in Austin has increased.
- The Child Advocacy Center released its 2001 Child Fatality Review Report on April 29th. The report shows that 124 children between the ages of 0 to 17 died in 2001, compared to 122 in 2000. Of the 124 children who died, 92 were from natural causes, 22 were accidental deaths, 6 were homicides, two were suicides, and two were undetermined. The leading cause of accidental childhood deaths in Travis County was auto accidents. Nine of the 12 children who died in cars were not wearing seat belts.
Projections:
- According to Census Bureau estimates released on April 29th, Travis County's population increased by 2.6% (from 812,280 to 833,797) from April 2000 to July 2001. Williamson County was the fifth fastest-growing county in the nation, jumping 11.2% in the same time frame.
RESOURCES
RESPONSES TO COMMUNITY CONDITIONS:
- As a result of the additional $1 million allocated to the basic needs crisis, in April, Any Baby Can provided basic needs assistance to 27 families with children who have special needs, the majority of which went toward utility, rent, and mortgage assistance. Meals on Wheels is providing an additional daily meal to 400 homebound clients whose only nourishment is the lunchtime meal delivered by Meals on Wheels volunteers.
- Responding to recommendations emanating from CAN's January retreat, a Grants Clearinghouse is being hosted by Austin Community College's Grants Development Department and its Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations in a collaborative effort with the Grants Clearinghouse Steering Committee and the CAN. The site at http://www2.austin.cc.tx.us/npo/grantwebsites.htm contains information on grant opportunities and grant-related web sites.
- § As part of SETON’s Centennial year, 786 employees in 51 teams took part in “March Mission Madness,” implementing projects to benefit clients and agencies with specific needs. 58% of participants worked on basic needs projects, 14% on public safety, and the remainder on various education, health, environmental, and homeless projects.
RESOURCE ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY:
- § The Austin Travis County MHMR Hotline, reports that in the first quarter of calendar year 2002, the Language Line interpreter service has been used 286 times to translate Spanish, Vietnamese and Croatian. Since ATCMHMR first contracted with Language Line in August of 1999, the Center has used the service 1801 times and the interpreters for 12 languages.
- Casis Elementary will be establishing a State Licensed Child Care Facility in response to the need for quality on-site care for children of employees of Austin ISD. The facility will open in August.
- The Morton and Angela Topfer Family Foundation pledged $500,000 to Family Eldercare for an independent living facility. The 53-unit housing development will be built on 2 ½ acres in Central East Austin near the Conley-Guerrero Senior Center and the Rosewood Zaragosa Medical Clinic.
- People's Community Clinic received a $1 million gift from Bettye and Bill Nowlin, the Clinic's largest individual gift ever. The donation will help the Clinic take care of many of the 2,000 people it turns away every month (Austin American-Statesman).
- In April, Austin's sales tax revenue continued to decline for the 11th month in a row - falling 11% from the same period in 2001. By the end of the year, it is anticipated that the City will have $7.6 million less than anticipated sales tax revenues. In response, the City Council unanimously approved a tax anticipation note for $2.8 million that could raise property taxes by one cent per $100 valuation this fall. Additionally, the City will freeze 189 vacant positions, bringing the number of positions that will remain unfilled this year to 337. In order for the City to meet its budget for the year, sales tax revenue would have to increase an average of 6% through September (Austin American-Statesman).
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
- Choose a local social services agency to support financially.
- 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 512-323-1898 or search for volunteer opportunities on United Way Capital Area's website at www.uway-austin.org.
- Also see the 2001 CAN Urgent Issues Action Plan at caction.org for additional information about community-wide approaches to addressing these issues in our community.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Community Overview 2001 was researched and written by the Research & Planning Division of Travis County Health and Human Services & Veterans Services, 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.
TRAVIS COUNTY HHS & VS RESEARCH AND PLANNING DIVISION:
Blanca Leahy, Director
Joy Stollings, Charlotte Brooks, Judy Cortez, Sheila Hughes, Lawrence Lyman, Susan Mathis, &
Ellen Richards
CONTRIBUTORS:
Fred Butler & Sam Woollard - Community Action Network
Annette Gula & Frank Almarez & Sherri Trebus - WorkSource
Mildred Vuris – ATCMHMR
Susan Andersen – Seton
COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK PARTNERS:
| Austin Area Human Services Association |
Health Partnership 2010 |
| Austin Independent School District |
United Way Capital Area |
| City of Austin |
Austin Area Research Organization, Inc. |
| The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce |
WorkSource - Greater Austin Area Workforce Board |
| Austin Area Interreligious Ministries |
Capital Metro |
| Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center |
Travis County |
| Community Justice Council |
Higher Education Coalition |
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June, 2002
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