Austin Employment Outpaces Texas and U.S. in July
Austin's job market grew faster than Texas and the U.S. in July. Unemployment stayed at 3.8%, while wages and home prices rose.
Austin's total nonfarm employment grew in the three months ending in July 2026, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The unemployment rate was flat at 3.8 percent, and wages increased during the month.
Labor Market Shows Strength
Job growth in Austin has outpaced expansion in Texas and the U.S. Since the pandemic. Employment in the metro area is up 24.1 percent compared with 11.3 percent statewide and 4.3 percent nationally. Employment in Austin rose an annualized 1.9 percent in July, while employment was little changed in Texas and the U.S.
Payrolls grew an annualized 3.1 percent in the three months ending in July. The Dallas Fed report shows growth was broad-based across sectors.
| Sector | Three-Month Annualized Job Growth |
|---|---|
| Professional and Business Services | 9.9 percent |
| Other Services | 9.7 percent |
| Mining and Construction | 7.0 percent |
| Information | -9.0 percent |
| Government | -5.1 percent |
The sectors with the fastest job growth were professional and business services, other services, and mining and construction. The information and government sectors saw the largest payroll declines.
Unemployment and Wage Trends
The Austin unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8 percent in July. This rate is lower than in Texas, at 4.5 percent, and the United States, at 4.1 percent. The local labor force was up 0.8 percent year over year in July.
Wages continued to rise. The three-month moving average of nominal hourly wages in Austin increased to $37.78 in July. Earnings in Austin are higher than the state average of $35.69 and slightly above the national figure of $37.57. Year over year, Austin wages grew 4.8 percent in July, outpacing growth in Texas (3.7 percent) and the U.S. (3.3 percent).
Housing Market Update
Home prices increased while inventory held steady. Austin’s median home price rose 1.2 percent in July. Year over year, median home prices in the metro area increased 1.9 percent, while prices were flat across Texas. Home inventories in Austin held steady at 4.8 months of supply, slightly below the 5.0 months recorded a year ago.
Apartment rental market declines are moderating. Year-over-year apartment rents decreased 1.8 percent in Austin in July. This compares to a 0.9 percent decrease in Texas and a 1.8 percent increase nationally. The market-rate rent in Austin was $1,460 in July. This is higher than the Texas average of $1,380 but lower than the national figure of $1,790. On a monthly basis, rents in Austin ticked up 0.4 percent in July.
The data is subject to revision Fed's report.
