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San Antonio Unemployment San Antonio’s job market continued its expansion during the first Quarter of 2007 according to employment statistics reported by the Texas Workforce Commission. The region posted a annual job growth rate of 2.87 percent (22,800 jobs) for the period spanning January through March of 2007, driving the San Antonio unemployment rate down to a low 4.29 percent (not seasonally-adjusted), the lowest first Quarter rate on record since the pre-recession rate of 4.04 percent registered in 2001.
In what has rapidly become a “job seeker’s market,” sustained strong job growth in the region has increased demand for skilled workers and taken much of the slack out of the labor pool, a combination of factors that translates into increased competition among employers for qualified employees. Historically low unemployment rates are setting the stage for a situation in which employers may have to pay a premium to attract talented employees. While the overall effects of a tightening job market can be difficult to quantify, area employers seem to be feeling the effects of the shrinking “candidate pool,” and in some cases have already begun to increase wages to attract employees. In his May 24th (2007) San Antonio Express News article, “Jobless Rate Hits a Low,” William Pack quotes Don DeCotis of Adecco Employment - which manages four offices in the San Antonio area - as stating that the company has “had more call-ins (job orders) than we’ve had in the last 15 years or so.”1 Pack goes on to describe the challenges a local Costco store has had in hiring entry level workers, noting that the store had to increase the entry-level wage from $10 to $11 during the past couple of months to successfully attract candidates.1 Comparing Large Texas Metro Areas… During the first Quarter of 2007, the San Antonio metro unemployment rate registered lower than all other large Texas metro areas with the exception of Austin-Round Rock and ranked lower than the state as a whole.
The Austin-Round Rock metro area set the standard for the state during the Quarter, registering a low 3.73 percent, thanks largely to the region’s 4.66 percent annual growth in Nonfarm payrolls. The state unemployment rate meanwhile, remained higher than the local rate at 4.56 percent. The San Antonio metro’s low unemployment rate (a function of job growth and available labor force) remained lower than that of its peers despite more muted job expansion; because the area’s available labor pool has not grown at the same pace as the state’s other large economies. The San Antonio labor force grew by 1.37 percent over the course of the last twelve months, while the Austin-Round Rock, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metros grew by 3.00, 1.84, and 1.67 percent respectively – providing a greater influx of manpower to their respective economies.
The above diagram illustrates the comparative data provided in the above table relative to Texas’ four largest MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) economies. The sphere representing each MSA is scaled to reflect the aggregate size of each MSA’s average total Nonfarm payrolls for the first quarter of 2007. San Antonio Job Growth… The San Antonio job market endured a seasonal contraction of 3,400 jobs (-0.41 percent) in the first Quarter of 2007 versus the previous Quarter’s employment level. The quarterly swoon was attributable primarily to a 3,233 job (-3.40 percent) reduction in Retailer payrolls as area businesses reduced inflated staffing levels following the busy holiday season.
Despite the anticipated quarterly setback however, the San Antonio metro continued to boast strong annual job growth, increasing payrolls by 22,800 jobs (2.87 percent) in the first Quarter of 2007 versus the same period in 2006.
The Trade, Transportation, & Utilities sector experienced the sharpest decline in employment during the opening Quarter of 2007 reducing payrolls by 3,167 – driven entirely by deep quarterly cuts in Retail Trade. Comparatively, annual job growth for the Trade, Transportation, & Utilities sector registered a positive 1.09 percent (1,533 jobs) despite a flat twelve-months of job growth for the Retail industry, a period in which the industry experienced a 33 job net loss (-0.04 percent). The Education and Health Services sector, likewise, endured significant seasonal reductions of 900 jobs (-0.79 percent) during the first Quarter of 2007. The sector’s dip in employment is largely attributable to a lag in hiring among private-education providers following the holiday break at the end of 2006. Despite the quarterly slip however, annual growth for the sector remained strong at 3.69 percent (4,033 jobs). The Ambulatory Health Care industry boasted the strongest annual gains for the sector, expanding payrolls by 6.22 percent - more than double the annual growth rate of the greater job market. Also enduring quarterly losses, the Manufacturing sector shed 367 jobs (-0.74 percent) during the first Quarter of the year. The modest quarterly reduction, however, proved an anomaly in an otherwise stellar year of job growth in which the sector experienced a 3.42 percent (1,633 jobs) expansion of payrolls. Likewise, the Construction sector also posted unexceptional quarterly losses of 167 jobs (-0.34 percent) in the face of strong annual growth of 3.35 percent (1,567 jobs).
The Information sector meanwhile, endured a nominal quarterly loss of 33 jobs (-0.16 percent) during the Quarter. Unlike other sectors of the job market however, the sector also endured an annual reduction in payrolls of 1.94 percent (-400 jobs). Telecommunications employers accounted for the entirety of that drop, trimming payrolls by 433 jobs (-6.91 percent) during the twelve-month period. Contrastingly, the Professional & Business Services sector and the Government sector posted the most substantial job gains in the first Quarter of 2007, each adding 633 jobs and growing payrolls by 0.60 percent and 0.43 percent respectively. Comparing annual growth for the two sectors, the Professional & Business Services sector posted an aggressive 5.65 percent (5,667 jobs) while the Government sector lagged behind the greater job market at 1.52 percent (2,233 jobs). The Natural Resources & Mining sector, meanwhile, also posted a slight gain of 100 jobs (3.13 percent) during the three-month period, bringing its annual growth to 300 jobs (11.24 percent).
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