Acceleration of our economy is the envy of economic development crews across America
In the latest illustration of the magnitude of Austin’s economic boom, growth in regional gross domestic product topped all other major U.S. metros in a new analysis.
Real gross domestic product in the Austin area — meaning the value of all goods and services produced, adjusted for inflation — climbed by 7.4%, or about $13.4 billion, in 2022, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. It’s the most recent federal data available.
The local growth rate for that year put the Austin area at No. 1 in a ranking by the Orlando Economic Partnership in Florida of the fastest-growing big regional economies in the United States. The Orlando area came in second, with GDP growth of 5.9%.
Nationwide, real GDP growth climbed 2.1% in 2022.
According to the ranking, the top metros for real GDP growth were:
* Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown: 7.4%
* Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford: 5.9%
* Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: 5.7%
* Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.: 5.3%
* Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.: 4.9%
* Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.: 4.9%
The Austin-area economy’s GDP came in at $193.63 billion in 2022, the Federal Reserve Bank reports, up from $180.24 billion the previous year.
While the local economy has been cooling somewhat in recent months, it has been red hot over the past few years. Expansions and relocations by global, brand-name companies have fueled the boom, such as the decision by electric carmaker Tesla Inc. to make the region its headquarters and build a Gigafactory in southeast Travis County, and the decision by electronics giant Samsung to build a $17 billion semiconductor plant in Taylor northeast of Austin.
Unadjusted for seasonal factors, the unemployment rate in the Austin metro area came in at 3% in November, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. That’s up slightly from 2.8% in November 2022 but still considered low by economists. For comparison, the unadjusted unemployment rate came in at 3.5% both nationally and statewide last month.
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Originally Published by The Austin Business Journal
