inluminent

I don’t normally post about Austin (the city I live in) but I had to point to this article in the Sunday Statesman (registration required):

Quarterly economic scorecard: Region is uniquely poised to take advantage of recovery, experts say.

A few choice quotes:

…Austin looks like a hot spot to the editors of Business 2.0 magazine, which recently said it would be the fourth fastest-growing job market in the next four years, one of 20 cities that will be “fertile ground for job-seekers and employers alike.”

While local economists say that Central Texas will add 14,000 or 15,000 jobs this year, the Economy.com consulting firm, based in West Chester, Pa., projects that the number will be 20,000, followed by another 41,000 jobs in 2005 — a healthy 5.9 percent growth rate.

…Business 2.0 forecasts that the region’s job base will grow by 12 percent by 2008.

Economy.com is predicting the Austin metro area — Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties — will see a 3.2 percent annual job growth rate in the fourth quarter. That’s significantly higher than forecasts of 1.7 percent for Boston and 0.8 percent for San Jose.

I just hope that’s all true and that the economy is finally starting to rebound in Austin…