The Austin metro area’s unemployment rate is down almost one percentage point from a year ago, according to numbers released Friday. The jobless rate in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area was 5.4 percent in February. That compares with 6.2 percent from a year ago.
The industry sector with the largest percentage gain was construction. For real estate analyst Mark Sprague with Independence Title, it comes as no surprise.
"What we’ve seen in the last 60 days is an extreme tightening of the market. There’s just not enough shelter. This is the tightest market I’ve seen in 35 years I’ve followed the Austin market," Sprague said.
Across Texas, the unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, up slightly from last month, but down from 7.1 percent a year ago.
