Austin cited as one of the next "youth-magnet" cities

According to the Journal, "Austin has become a gathering place for tech- and arts-conscious young adults." The paper also lauded Austin for its cultural attractions like the Austin City Limits Music Festival and South by Southwest. But some of those polled by the Journal expressed concern over how strongly Austin will bounce back from the recession.

What do Washington D.C., Seattle, New York, Portland and Austin all have in common? They are the five cities that top a new Wall Street Journal poll on where young people are likely to flock once economic recovery takes hold.

The Journal polled a panel of experts, from demographers to economists, on where young college graduates are likely to congregate in coming years. Austin ranked fifth on the list with the lowest unemployment rate of the five cities and a relatively high median household income. The Capital of Texas didn't fare quite so well as the others on the education front, with 41.8 percent of 25-35 year olds holding a bachelors degree or higher compared with 61.3 percent in Washington and 64.2 percent in Seattle.

The top 10 post-recession boom towns for the young and ambitious:

1. (tie) Washington D.C.
1. Seattle
3. New York
4. Portland
5. Austin
6. San Jose, Calif.
7. Denver
8. Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
9. Dallas
10. Chicago

Austin Business Journal

Austin Among Best Performing U.S. Metros (Economic Recovery)

Austin and San Antonio will be the first two U.S. cities to recover from the recession, according to a new national forecast from IHS Global Insight.

The forecast from the Lexington, Mass. economic research firm suggests the two Texas cities will bounce back to their pre-recession job levels sometime next year.
Eight other metropolitan areas are predicted to recover by 2011, a group that includes Texas’ two largest markets, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, along with Washington, D.C.

IHS Global Insight said most metros will start adding employment next year, but the increases are likely to be tepid. “Solid gains will not return for the majority of the country until 2011,” the report said.

Austin is also named one of the 20 best performing metropolitan areas in the second quarter of 2009, according to a study by the Brookings Institution. The second quarter MetroMonitor report tracked nine metrics in 100 U.S. metro areas, and found Austin was a leader in many of those, from percent change in gross metropolitan product to percent change in housing prices.

Employment in Austin fell 0.5 percent from its pre-recession peak, that was the second-narrowest gap in the nation. The Texas Capital was also one of only three metro areas that surpassed their pre-recession peak output by the second quarter of 2009. Along with the other two cities, McAllen and Washington D.C., Austin was one of those least affected by the downturn.

The report’s authors said the figures reveal some stark differences in economic performance among metro areas. “Signs at the national level that job and income losses are slowing continue to mask the highly variable performance of individual metropolitan economies,” said Alan Berube, co-author of the report. “While several metro areas may have reached a turning point, there are many others that still have not touched bottom, as well as a few that have almost fully recovered.”
Texas had the strongest showing, with six cities among the 20 strongest metro areas: Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, McAllen and San Antonio. Florida dominated the list of the 20 weakest metro areas with eight, including Bradenton, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Miami, Orlando, Palm Bay and Tampa.
For the full report, click here.

Source: Austin Business Journal

Austin 7th Most Generous Big City for Online Giving

The recession doesn't appear to be keeping many Austinites from giving to nonprofits.
According to data from Convio Inc., the Capital City was the 7th most generous big city in the nation based on per capita online giving during the first eight months of this year.

Austin ranked 14th on the list in 2008. The rankings are based on the online donations Convio processed on behalf of thousands of nonprofits between January and August.

The top 10 big cities for online giving are:

1) Alexandria, Va.
2) Cambridge, Mass.
3) Minneapolis
4) Arlington, Va.
5) Seattle
6) St. Louis
7) Austin
8) Bellevue, Wash.
9) Washington D.C.
10) Pittsburgh

Another Central Texas city, Georgetown, ranked third on the list for most generous small cities, or those with a population of under 100,000.
"As the Internet pervades all aspects of our life it continues to become a growth engine for nonprofit fundraising," said Convio CEO Gene Austin.
For the full rankings, click here.

Source: Austin Business Journal