| |
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:
- Travis County Auditor’s Office October report indicates that the local economy continues to struggle. September City Sales Tax receipts were down 6% when compared with last year. Retail sales for the first quarter of 2002 are down 4.4% from last year. A couple of brighter spots: sales at Eat and Drink Places remain steady as do Travis County building permits.
- The median price of homes dipped slightly to $155,000 in September, down from $159,500 in August. Sales of existing homes were down 2 percent when compared to 2001, in spite of a 17 percent climb in the number of houses for sale--this reflects an increase in the number of days it took for the average house to sell from 49 days in 2001 to 64 this year (Austin American-Statesman).
- According to California-based PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Austin tops the list of U.S. cities at risk to see a decline in home values. The company states that Austin has about a 20% chance of seeing a 10% decline in home values over the next two years (Austin American-Statesman).
- Travis County experienced a 35% increase in property foreclosures from 2001 to 2002. The bulk of the foreclosures are single family homes valued at $100,000-150,000 (Austin American-Statesman).
- Real estate agents in Central Texas sold 149 fewer house in July compared with a year ago. Home sales declined 9% and the median house price dropped 3%, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. The median house price was $155,000 in July, down from $159,000 a year ago and from June’s record $164,000.
- A new study by the Boyd Company, a corporate-relocation firm, reports that Austin is one of the least expensive places in the country to run a business. Austin is less expensive for corporations than either Houston or Dallas, as well as 23 other selected metropolitan areas in the United States (Austin Chronicle).
EMPLOYMENT:
- The Travis County unemployment rate dropped to 5.6% in September, down from 6.1% in July. The September unemployment rate was better than the State’s rate of 6.1%.
- 5,914 people were laid off in the greater Austin area between January 1 and September 18, 2002 (WorkSource).
|
 |
- WorkSource Career Centers received 17,341 visits in August 2002, for an average of 774 visits a day. In 2002 there have been 123,297 customer visits to the centers, indicating that demand for employment assistance remains high. WorkSource Career Centers received 148,507 customer visits in 2001, averaging 12,376 visits per month (WorkSource).
- Economists are projecting national economic growth at 3.2% next year, but are not anticipating that this will translate into job growth -- the unemployment rate is expected to remain close to 6% (Austin American-Statesman).
- The unemployment gap between blacks and whites, which had been narrowing steadily through the nineties, has expanded again with unemployment among blacks being 9.6% compared with 5.1% for whites (Austin American-Statesman).
- According to a new study, Austin ranks 11th out of 61 major metropolitan areas in income inequality. The wage gap is rising as a result of the change in the job market – cities like Austin with higher percentages of creative class jobs have wider gaps between high and low wage workers. As creative jobs (authors, software developers, engineers, doctors) increase, manufacturing jobs decrease and service industry jobs increase difficulties arise for individuals wanting to move from one class of jobs (service) to another (creative). The old structure created in traditional manufacturing industries allowed workers to move up the ladder to higher paying more skilled jobs – increasingly the new job market structure doesn’t offer these types of opportunities (Austin American-Statesman).
- Between July 2001 and July 2002, Central Texas lost 11 percent of its manufacturing jobs (Austin American-Statesman).
COST OF LIVING:
- The U.S. Census Bureau reported that national poverty levels increased in 2001 for the first time in 8 years. From 2000 to 2001 the number of poor nationwide jumped from 31.6 million to 32.9 million. Federal guidelines define poverty for a family of four as having annual income of less than $18,104 (Austin American-Statesman).
- The National Low Income Housing Coalition found that an average US employee must earn $14.66/hour, nearly three times the federal minimum wage, to afford a two-bedroom rental, and still be able to meet other basic needs. In the Austin-San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) the hourly wage required is even higher -- $17.52 per hour (Austin American-Statesman).
- 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.
DEMAND INDICATORS:
Housing, Homelessness, Basic Needs:
- The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) is reporting an increase in demand and decrease in donations of food this year. The number of pounds of food they will need to distribute this holiday season is up 33% from last year to 16 million, but the food bank reports that at current levels many people will not be able to receive help. CAFB has expanded the Kids Café program to 15 total sites in the Central Texas Area, feeding more than 2,000 children (CAFB).
- Any Baby Can reports turning away approximately 100 requests for basic needs assistance weekly (Any Baby Can).
- According to the United Way Capital Area’s First Call for Help, requests for mortgage assistance increased by 163% in the first eight months of 2002 (Austin American Statesman).
- Milburn homes is currently building 1,050 affordable homes which will sell for between $88,300 and $107,800. Only 2.8% of the 6,700 new houses sold in the Austin metropolitan area so far this year were priced under $100,000. Milburn usually builds houses costing in the mid $100,000’s and is developing this affordable housing subdivision as a pilot project (Austin American Statesman).
- After declining for several years, Food Stamp enrollment has jumped sharply in the first ten months of FY02. In FY01, the average monthly enrollment was 28,155 in Travis Co. as compared to 37,936 in FY02.
- Travis County Health and Human Services has assisted 54% more households with basic needs in the first 10 months of FY02 when compared with the first ten months of FY01.
- Meals on Wheels and More is delivering meals to 200 more clients per day than it did last year. The opening of the new MOW kitchen on East 5th enables staff to cook four times more meals than at the previous location (Austin American-Statesman).
Physical and Mental Health:
- As of October 24th, there were 11,849 Travis County children enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (CHIP 10-24-02 Bulletin).
- The State of Texas may lose up to $285 million in federal funds for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The state would have to spend an additional $108 million to keep the $285 million. The federal money provides Texas $72 for every $28 it spends on CHIP. The unspent funds are now in danger of being distributed to other states. However, Congress is currently considering legislation that would allow states to keep this funding (Austin American-Statesman).
- The Texas Medicaid rolls are nearly as full as they were before welfare reform in the early 1990’s, due, in part, to the downturn in the economy and State efforts to expand access to Medicaid benefits. 200,000 more people than expected are currently in the Texas Medicaid system (Austin American-Statesman).
- The U.S. Census Bureau recently revised their estimate of Uninsured Americans in 2000 from 38.7 million to 39.8 million and estimates that the number of uninsured in the United States rose to 41.2 million in 2001 (Families USA).
- Employees in the Austin-San Marcos area are expected to see a 15% rise ($800) in annual health care costs next year--according to a report by Hewitt Associates. This increase only takes into account employee contributions. The same report also indicates that the cost of health care is likely to double over the next five years, unless major reforms occur (Austin Business Journal).
- In recent months, a broad based coalition including Austin City Councilmembers and Travis County Commissioners are considering the development of a hospital district to assume responsibility for providing indigent health care in Travis County. Austin is the only major metro area in Texas without such as district.
- Seton Healthcare Network is proposing to build a new Children's Hospital. While the current city-owned facility is profitable for the Network, it is overcrowded. Doctors say there are too many patients and not enough beds (Austin American-Statesman).
- ATCMHMR reports that prescription drug costs have increased almost 170% since 1997. As a percentage of total expenses, prescription costs have increased from 5.2% to 11.58%. New policies being implemented to attempt to control the rise in prescription costs will likely result in increased costs for clients.
Transportation:
- Just Transportation Alliances, a project of Texas Citizen Fund, estimates that one in five adult Texans (approximately 3 million and primarily people with disabilities, people over 65, and people living below poverty) does not have reliable access to a car. A survey of the transportation disadvantaged population identified needed solutions such as increasing investment in pedestrian infrastructure, and improvements in transit and paratransit (Auto Focus: How the Texas transportation budget ignores people with disabilities, seniors, and low-income citizens).
- Respondents to a July survey of 750 people in Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell counties by Envision Central Texas indicated that the biggest problems in the Central Texas region are traffic (40%), roads/highways/bridges (18%), Education/schools (11%), jobs/unemployment (9%), and health care (9%) (Austin American-Statesman).
Early Education and Care
- In Austin, 11,697 grandparents are living in households with one or more grandchildren under the age of 18. 5,105 of those grandparents are responsible for meeting the basic needs of their grandchildren (http://www.grandsplace.com).
- Runzheimer International, a national relocation consulting firm, reports that child care costs in 75 cities rose an average of 6.4% last year, more than twice the consumer-price inflation rate. According to the firm, child care costs are now higher than housing, food, and even college education in many situations (Wall Street Journal).
Education:
- Thirty-five Austin schools have been recognized under the Gold Performance Acknowledgment system of the Texas Education Agency. The acknowledgment is based on high performance and academic success (AISD E-News).
- In 2002, more Austin students scored high on Advanced Placement exams, according to the College Board. 53.2% of test takers scored a three or better on the five-point scale as compared to 47.8% in 2001 (AISD E-News).
- A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows that 5% of Texas high school students dropped out in the 1999-2000 school year. Conflicting statistics from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) report a dropout rate of 1.3%. NCES reports that the dropout rate for AISD that year was 6.9%, while TEA reported 2.4%. State officials acknowledge problems with their methodology, and say the system is being changed (Dallas Morning News).
- On average, Texas students who took the SAT scored lower than last year. Student scores increased an average of 1 point on the math portion of the test and declined 2 points on the verbal. Texas scores are slightly below the national average (Austin American-Statesman).
Public Safety:
- Austin has had 23 murders so far this year, which is up from 16 at this point last year. Of the 23 murders, nearly a third were domestic violence related (KEYE).
- For the period of January through July of 2002, there were 100 alcohol-related referrals to Gardner-Betts Juvenile Detention Center, compared to 62 in 2001 (Travis County Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program).
- Austin police have broken up 12 methamphetamine labs this year. The increase in labs discovered this year has led officers to develop new education and drug abuse prevention efforts. Methamphetamine has been a popular drug among white low- to middle-class men, but is now spreading to other populations (Austin American-Statesman).
- According to the 2001 Austin Police Department’s Preliminary FBI Uniform Crime Report released in May of 2002, the Index Crime rate for 2001 increased 5% compared to 2000. Violent crimes are up 5% from last year and property crimes are up 13% from 2000. Auto theft (+24%), burglaries (+16%), robberies (+17%), and property thefts (+11%) all increased in Austin from 2000.
RESOURCES
RESOURCE ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY:
- The Capital Area Planning Council (CAPCO) is expecting a 14% decrease in federal Victims of Crime Act funding. The state allocation to the Central Texas region would decline by $434,669 from last fiscal year. The cut would mean a loss of $869,315 for direct services to victims over two years (Office of the Governor training July 2002).
- Family Eldercare received $500,000 in additional grant funding for its proposed low-income senior housing project in East Austin. The $6.1 million, 61-unit project, to be built across from the Rosewood-Zaragoza health center, has already received $4.2 million in funding from public and private sources; groundbreaking is anticipated for next spring (Austin Chronicle).
- The Family Violence Protection Team received a $600,000 award from the Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Office. The team helps victims of Domestic Violence with legal and social advocates (Family Violence Protection Team).
- The Justice Department has awarded $16.2 Million to Texas police and firefighters to better prepare for terrorist attacks. The money will go to equipment and training in the counter-terrorism effort (Statesman).
- Austin Energy is receiving $1,000 to $2,000 more per month in contributions to the CAP Program (formerly PLUS One) that is used to assist low-income individuals in paying their utility bills. The average amount of donations received per month is now $5,000 to $6,000 (Austin Energy).
- The Austin Independent School District (AISD) will receive a $575,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the School Leadership Program. The money will help AISD provide training and mentoring for principals at high-need schools (AISD E-News).
- Disability Assistance of Central Texas, Inc. (DACT) will receive approximately $219,000 each year for the next three years from the U.S. Department of Education to support “Projects With Industry” plans directed at the development of job opportunities for people with disabilities (DACT).
- In August, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation announced $1.8 million in grants to support all Austin students in their preparation for college. This funding will support programs that promote college-readiness, college preparation, and academic intervention and support.
- Pflugerville school district received a $1 million gift from an anonymous donor – funds will go to reward students and teachers for high scores on Advanced Placement exams (Austin American- Statesman).
- The new City of Austin budget tightens the belt by freezing unfilled positions and making cuts in administration and operations. However, spending for public safety increased to $256 million, up from $213 million two years ago. Health and human services will also get a slight increase for programs for homeless and women’s shelters. The City of Austin will maintain the $500,000 additional commitment for basic needs services (Austin American-Statesman).
- Texas ranks lowest among the 50 states in providing community based services to people with disabilities. Arc of Texas and Advocacy, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas alleging that the State is taking too long to move people off of waiting lists for community based services. The waiting list at TDMHMR increased by one-third last year and the wait at DHS is 4 years (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, & Joseph Wiesenthal - Community Action Network
Annette Gula, Frank Almarez, & Sherri Trebus - WorkSource
Gloria Souhami – Travis County Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program
Lila Carl – Any Baby Can
Ray Fernandez – Capital Area Food Bank
David Storm - ATCMHMR
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 |
Top Of Page
November, 2002
|
