Economic Growth in San Antonio

People I encounter ask almost daily how San Antonio's job market is doing. I am optimistic individual so my first response is always positive. I tell them we may not be completely clear, but give it time, it's coming. However, recently I attended a luncheon where concrete figures were shown to demonstrate San Antonio's economic growth. The speaker was Mario Hernandez, President of San Antonio Economic Development Foundation.

During his presentation he discussed several benefits of living in San Antonio. One of the major reasons is our great economy.

• San Antonio is ranked #1 in America as the fastest recovering cities and ranked #1 as strongest metropolitan economy.
• From March 2009 to March 2010 we have grown 2.4% in labor.
• Our unemployment rate for March 2010 was 7.3% in comparison to our state, at 8.2%, and the U.S. , 10.2%.
• Not only is the unemployment less, but our employment growth is +1.34%, Texas +1.64%, and the U.S. is -1.2%.

San Antonio is continuing to see an increase in jobs. Expectation of headcount for most businesses is expected for Q2 and Q3. Our city is definitely bouncing back in the job market. The question should no longer be how is the job market, but are we, as individuals ready for the increase in headcount, or for new opportunities?

By: Estelle Wilmer, Client Services Specialist