AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Austin's economy fully hit the brick wall of COVID-19 in April, according to the Dallas Federal Reserve's monthly Economic Indicators Report.
Austin's Business Cycle Index for April dropped a record 76.9 percent, the largest drop since the data began being tracked in 1978. The BCI factors in details such as unemployment rate, nonagricultural employment, inflation-adjusted wages, and inflation-adjusted retail sales, and is an overall picture of the health of the local economy.
A key factor in the BCI drop is the unemployment rate, which rose to 11.5% in April - the highest on record since the Fed began tracking it in 1990. Despite the high unemployment rate in the Austin metro, Austin was among the lowest in the state when compared with other metro areas, and the nationwide rate of 14.7%.
Every sector except for financial activities lost jobs during three months ending in April, with a net loss of more than 127,000 jobs. Leisure and hospitality saw the largest payroll declines at 93.3 percent, or about 68,000 jobs; followed by "other services" such as automotive repair and barber shops (a decline of 73.3 percent, or 13,820 jobs), health and private education services (down 49.3 percent, or 20,460 jobs) and trade, transportation and utilities (down 23.7 percent, or 12,310 jobs).
Despite record job losses, more recent unemployment data is starting to show some signs of beginning to turn the corner. The week ending May 23 was the third consecutive week of declines in initial claims and the lowest number of claims filed since the week of March 14. Total initial claims filed locally from March 7 to May 23 (89,003) represented 12.0 percent of the labor force, a much lower share relative to Texas' statewide 16.2 percent (2.3 million) over the same period.
Existing home sales also declined for the month of April, with the Austin market down 18.1 percent compared to 17.7 percent across the state. The median sale price was $317, 595 in Austin, a 2.5 percent increase year over year.
More information is available at the Dallas Fed's website.
