Community Overview

November, 2004

EMPLOYMENT:

• According to the Texas Workforce Commission, Austin ’s unemployment rate declined from 4.7% in July to 4.2% in September . The unemployment rate for the same period last year was close to 5.8% (Austin American-Statesman, Austin Business Journal).

• 

• Analysts attribute a majority of the unemployment rate decline to recent public school hiring . The Central Texas region has added 6,500 jobs since July – 4,400 of those were added in local governments and school districts (Austin American-Statesman, Austin Business Journal).
• According to a national labor survey conducted in September, Austin has one of the weakest employment markets in the country . Only 17% of Austin employers plan to hire in the fourth quarter, and 17% plan to reduce their workforce ( Austin American-Statesman, Austin Business Journal).
• A September report shows that the anticipated national fourth quarter lay-offs are 41% higher than September of 2003 (Austin American-Statesman).
• The Labor Department reported that the national economy added a weaker than expected 96,000 new jobs in September. Analysts anticipated 148,000 new jobs in September (Austin American-Statesman).
• A number of Austin-based companies have announced plans plan to cut their workforces :

Motorola announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs company-wide – 1% of its total workforce. Computer Associates will cut 800 jobs – 5% of its total workforce. TexLink Communications Inc., a Telecom company, announced plans to lay-off an undisclosed number of workers. Temple-Inland cut 1,500 jobs as part of a reorganization strategy. Freescale Semiconductor Inc. announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs – 4.5% of its total workforce. American Airlines will lay off 1,100 workers by the summer of 2005. Vignette cut 120 workers – 15% of its total workforce (Austin American-Statesman, Austin Business Journal).

As of October 25, 2,052 people have been laid off in the Greater Austin Area in 2004 , according to numbers collected by WorkSource – Greater Austin Area Workforce Board. Of the layoffs in 2004, 44% or 898 of the individuals laid off were employed by call centers. There were 5,222 layoffs in 2003. The economic climate has also affected the number of customer visits to the four WorkSource – Career Centers. As of September 2004, there have been 167,014 customer visits to the Career Centers – an 11% increase from the 150,616 customer visits during the same time period in 2003.

Back to Contents

ECONOMY:

LOCAL

• September city sales tax receipts were up 7.4% from September of last year. At the current rate, sales tax receipts should reach $112.5 million by the end of the year ( Travis County Auditors Office) .
• The Austin purchasing index fell dramatically from 66.2 in August to 50.2 September – the lowest the index has been since June of 2003. Any number above 50 indicates growth, but the recent September figure is far lower than the previous 15 month PMI average (Austin American-Statesman).
• Austin companies report receiving less venture capitol funding in the third quarter. Venture spending is down $6.25 million from the third quarter of 2003 ( Austin Business Journal).
• In September the Austin City Council passed a $2 billion city budget for 2005 . The new budget increased the city’s living wage from $9 to $10. It also called for a property tax increase. The average-priced homeowner will pay $67 more in annual property tax (Austin American-Statesman, Austin Business Journal).
• Regional gas prices increased in early October to $1.84 a gallon – more than $.45 per gallon higher than prices in October of 2003 (Austin American-Statesman).
• Austin ’s office vacancy rate of 19.4% is the lowest the city has seen since the fourth quarter of 2001 . The current rate is a 3.4% decrease in vacancy from the third quarter of 2003. Office vacancy rate is an indicator often tied to jobless rates (Austin American-Statesman).

Back to Contents

STATE

State sales tax collections totaled $1,168.2 million in September 2004. Compared with $1,124.2 million collected in September 2003, this represents an increase of 3.9% ( Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts). August marked the end of the 2004 fiscal year for state sales tax collection. State sales tax was up 7.9% from 2003. The fiscal year ended with $15.3 billion collected statewide. State sales tax figures have steadily increased from $12.5 collected in 1998 (Austin American-Statesman, Austin Business Journal).

• Texas ’ general revenue was also up in the 2004 fiscal year . The state finished the year $1.8 billion higher than 2003. The 6.4% increase from 2003 was the highest growth rate since 1998 (Austin American-Statesman, Austin Business Journal).
• Analysts report that the Texas economy has shown a decreasing dependence on oil and gas production. Oil and gas production currently represent 6% of the state’s economic output – down from 19% in 1981 (Austin American-Statesman)

Back to Contents

NATIONAL

• At well over $50 a barrel, oil prices are 75% higher than this time last year. Experts say that oil price increases are a result of a difficult hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico and increasing unrest in the Middle East (Austin American-Statesman).
• The difficult hurricane season pushed the cost of building materials up 5%. Since mid September, the cost wholesale building materials has increased the cost of building an average new home by $5,000 to $7,000 (Austin American-Statesman).
• In October the U.S. trade deficit rose to its second highest level in history . Analysts attribute the increase to high foreign oil prices, which are expected to remain high. The 2004 trade deficit has run almost $100 billion higher than it did in 2003 (Austin American-Statesman).
• Social Security recipients received a 2.7% annual cost of living increase in October, which translates to an additional $25 a month per person . (Austin American-Statesman).

Back to Contents

DEMAND INDICATORS:

Basic Needs & Income:

• Customer contributions to Austin Energy’s Customer Assistance Program (Plus One) are well below levels seen before the economic recession. In FY 98, Austin Energy received over $81,000 in contributions for their Plus One program, which provides assistance to low-income clients who cannot afford to pay their utility bills (Austin Energy).
• One in five U.S. jobs pays lower than poverty wage for a family of four . Thirty-nine million Americans – including 20 million children – live in working poor families (Austin American-Statesman).
• According to recent findings by the U.S. Census more than one third (36.8%) of Texas families earn less than $35,000 annually (American Community Survey, 2003).
• The 2004 Annual and Social Economic Supplement, another recent U.S. Census report showed the following:
• • The national child poverty rate rose by 733,000 to reach almost 13 million.
  • Texas was one of 7 states to show an increase in poverty (based on two year moving averages) ( U.S. Census Bureau).
• The number of Americans living in extreme poverty (at or below 50% of the poverty line) increased by 1.2 million to reach a total of 15.3 million people. Forty-three percent of all poor Americans live at this level of poverty (TACAA Food Journal).

Back to Contents

Housing:

• The Austin area apartment occupancy rate rose 0.6% between August 2003 and August 2004 to exceed 90% occupancy – the highest rate in 22 months ( Austin Business Journal) .
• The Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) reported in October that it operates approximately 1,928 units at 98% occupancy, and has more than 4,000 people on the waiting list for public housing (HACA Once Voice, October 2004) .
• After declining to a 15-month low of 300 in the October postings, Travis County foreclosure postings in November rose 2% to 305. However, the November foreclosure rate is 10% lower than Travis County foreclosures in November 2003 ( Austin Business Journal, Austin American-Statesman) .
• According to the Austin Board of Realtors single-family home sales are up 14% from this time last year ( Austin Business Journal) .
• The Federal Home Mortgage Corporation reported a drop (from 5.83% to 5.75%) in 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates (Austin American-Statesman) .
• Central Texas third quarter new home starts were at record high levels this year. Builders started 3,667 homes between June and September – up 20% from the same quarter in 2003 (Austin American-Statesman) .
• Central Texas median home prices increased 5% in September to $160,000 – the biggest increase in more than a year (Austin American-Statesman) .

Back to Contents

Physical and Mental Health:

The Indigent Care Collaboration reported that emergency room visits for uninsured adults and children in Travis, Williamson, and Hays Counties rose 43% between 1999 and 2003 . The report also indicated that two-thirds to three-quarters of the child emergency room visits in that time frame were not truly emergencies (Austin American-Statesman) . Since Summer 2003, Texas enrollment in CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) has declined 30%, while the number of children on Medicaid rolls has increased . However, the state’s increase in Medicaid has not completely offset the number of children who lost CHIP coverage. Since May of 2000 CHIP has shed 146,334 children from its caseload; Medicaid has added 135,319 children, leaving an 11,015 coverage gap (CPPP, insure-a-kid News).

• A recent study by the Texas Pediatric/Adolescent Drug Review found that, of the 12,168 Texas children on Medicaid who receive antidepressants, only 52% have a medical diagnosis justifying use of the drugs . The study also found that 47% of the children on anti-psychotics and 28% receiving stimulants did not have a proper diagnosis (Austin American-Statesman) .
• The new state-mandated plan called “resiliency and disease management” began September 1. The plan requires the Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center (ATCMHMR) to treat only clients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression. The new plan excludes treatment to patients dealing with other disorders such as post- traumatic stress and obsessive compulsion. So far under the new plan, ATCMHMR has turned away 47 Austin residents, and 252 existing ATCMHMR clients have been deemed ineligible for services (Austin American-Statesman) .
• However, according to ATCMHMR, 500 children and 2,993 adults have recently been approved for services. Through November and December ATCMHMR will continue to assess and serve people in crisis regardless of their diagnosis. After which time, ATCMHMR will continue to work to find alternative plans for the 500 to 800 individuals no longer eligible for mental health services with state dollars (ATCMHMR, Focus – ATCMHMR Newsletter) .
• The results of the most recent Texas School Survey of Substance Use show that inhalant use among fourth through sixth graders has increased 17%, while Ecstasy use declined 50% and 58% among seventh and ninth graders respectively (Austin American-Statesman) .
• As of August 30 Travis County had 34 deaths due to Heroin overdose – a number already higher than the total annual rate of deaths due to Heroin overdose in more than 12 years (Austin American-Statesman) .

Back to Contents

Transportation

• Austin Bergstrom Airport Traffic was up 11% from September of last year. The airport reported a total of 577,004 passengers for September 2004 (Austin American-Statesman) .
• A recent study sponsored by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and conducted by Opinion Analysts, Inc. revealed the following about regional commuters:
• • 83% of commuters drive their own cars, 4% ride a bus and 1% bicycle .
  • 51.2% of survey respondents (peak hour commuters) would prefer to pay a toll as a funding mechanism for a new road, rather than wait for funding availability for a new road.
  • 41.6% of commuters would approve a 5% increase on gasoline to build a new road in the local region (CAMPO News).
• The Texas Transportation Commission recently approved the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s plan to construct a $2.2 billion toll road ( Austin Business Journal).
• On Election Day, 62% of Austin voters supported the Capitol Metro commuter rail project . The first phase of the rail will extend from Leander to Austin and cost $60 million. It is scheduled to be ready for passengers within three years ( Austin Business Journal)

Back to Contents

Education and Workforce Development

• In September, voters approved a $519.5 million bond for AISD. The district plans to build eight new area schools, renovate some existing campuses, and make safety and equipment improvements throughout the district (Austin American-Statesman) .
• Five hundred and sixty of the 7,700 Texas public schools fell short of achieving No Child Left Behind “adequate yearly progress” standards . As of October, 300 of those schools must allow parents to transfer their children to higher performing schools (due to their federal funding status) (Austin American-Statesman) .

• In September, Austin Judge Jon Dietz declared Texas education spending unconstitutional . He said that schools do not have enough money to provide the quality of education that the federal system requires. More than 60% of Texas public school funding comes from local property tax. The judge pointed to the correlation in districts with low academic achievement and low taxable property value as potentially unconstitutional (Austin American-Statesman).
• Two teachers recently sued the Texas Education Commissioner for authorizing superintendents to approve class-size increases . The change makes it easier for local districts to bypass the 22-child per class limit (Austin American-Statesman).
• The University of Texas recently launched the Institute for Public School Initiatives . The new institute will use research conducted at UT to provide support to Texas students and teachers in improving student performance, graduation rates and reading proficiency ( Austin Business Journal).

Back to Contents

Public Safety:

• The Texas Department of Public Safety reported that the state has only 69% of criminal records for 2002 and 60% for 2001, leaving thousands of criminal convictions unaccounted for . The missing records affect criminal background checks for employment and firearm purchases, as well as sex-offender registration (Austin American-Statesman) .
• The Texas Workers Compensation Commission reports that occupational fatalities rose more than 17% in 2003. This followed an increase of less than 1% in 2002. The leading cause of work-related deaths was transportation incidents ( Austin Business Journal) .
• October marked the first time in 60 years that Austin has accrued 14 consecutive months without any fire deaths . Austin historically averages about 5 fire deaths per year (Austin American-Statesman) .
• CPPP published the following information in a recent report about Child Protective Services in Texas :
• • Texas ranks 48 th in child protection spending . We spend 60% less on child protection than the national average.
  • Texas CPS workers confirmed 50,208 cases of child abuse in 2003 , and removed 8,595 children from dangerous, abusive homes (CPPP Policy Brief).

Back to Contents

Demographic Changes and Immigration:

• The U.S. Latino middle class grew by 80% between 1980 and 2000 . Hispanic purchasing power is on the rise and expected to reach $1 trillion by 2008. Latinos earn $200 billion annually. However, as many as 50% of U.S. Latinos do not have bank accounts, 70% of Latinos do not own homes and the 2001 median net worth for Latinos was $10,563 (compared with a median net worth of $111,523 for non-Hispanic whites) (Austin American-Statesman) .
• Texas border agents are arresting an increasing number of illegal immigrant children . The federal Administration for Children and Families in El Paso reports housing an average of 800 children per day, compared with 600 children per day last year (Austin American-Statesman) .
• One in five U.S. children live in families with immigrant parents . Twenty-six percent of immigrant children live in families in which no one over 14 years of age speaks English. A recent report showed that only 62% of U.S. children in immigrant families from Mexico , Central America , the Dominican Republic , Indochina and Haiti graduate from high school. Only 22% of those graduates go on to enroll in college (AISD –Watch).

Back to Contents

RESOURCES:

• The Governor’s Criminal Justice Division announced the distribution of the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant program funds :
• • $159,511 will fund the City of Austin casework to monitor youthful offenders.
  • $20,342 will fund the Central Texas Council of Governments to train and certify law enforcement and court professionals who work with at-risk youth and juvenile offenders.
  • $144,160 will fund Travis County to provide drug education, mental health services and substance abuse treatment to juvenile offenders (Governor’s Office Press Release).
• The Silverton Foundation awarded Foundation Communities a $175,000 grant over three years . The grant will fund the development of five “Claim and Save” Community Income Tax Centers. The centers will help low income families claim their Earned Income Tax Credits. Foundation Communities hopes to generate an additional $10 million per year in Austin ’s annual household income ( Silverton Foundation).
• The U.S. Department of Education awarded a $1.3 million grant to A.I.S.D. for high school level reading and math programs. The grant is slated to be renewed for three years for a total of $3.9 million over time (Austin American-Statesman) .
• The Dell Foundation awarded a $25 million grant to the development of the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas ( Austin Business Journal) .
• The US Department of Housing and Urban Developmentgranted the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) $2,912,800 for modernization and renovation . HACA ranked as a high performer in the US Department of Housing’s Public Housing System (HACA Once Voice, October 2004) .
• The National Institute of Health awarded the University of Texas Nursing School ’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention a $2.3 million dollar research grant ( Austin Business Journal) .
• The Small Business Administration awarded $150,000 to BIG Austin (Business Investment Growth) to develop the Women’s Business Center in Austin ( Austin Business Journal) .
• The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Fund awarded $836,000 (a grant matching more than $800,000 in local fund raising) to theAustin Community Development Corp. The grant will help the nonprofit offer loans and support to small businesses and create new jobs in Austin (Austin American-Statesman) .
• Austin was one of 13 Texas cities that received a portion of a $4.8 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security . The money will be used to prepare for incidents of “ mass casualty emergency” (Austin American-Statesman) .
• The National Council for Community and Education Partnership and the SBC Foundation have awarded AISD and ACC $86,000 in grants to promote college readiness for low-income students (Austin American-Statesman) .
• The Department of Education awarded Austin Community College a $1.3 million, five year grant to develop and implement training and statewide access for bilingual teachers(ACC).

Back to Contents

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

• Copy and distribute this document in order to increase public awareness.
• Choose a local social services agency to support financially.
• 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 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.

Back to Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Community Overview 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

Brook Son, Lead Writer

Koren Darling, Lawrence Lyman, Meg Poag, Ellen Richards, & Joy Stollings

CONTRIBUTORS:

Fred Butler, Sam Woollard, – Community Action Network
Pat Alaniz – Austin Energy
Leanne James - WorkSource
Mildred Vuris – ATC MHMR
Andy White – Silverton Foundation
Sharon Duncan – Austin Community College

COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK PARTNERS:

Back to Contents