Covid-19 may have shattered many of the expectations local industries had for 2020, but in the realm of transportation, business leaders and elected officials consider the year a milestone for the future of regional movement. “Despite our current situation, a global pandemic, we’ve accomplished a lot of things,” Shaun Cranston, vice president and director of […]
Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce
The Austin Chamber of Commerce is a private, membership-driven organization that includes 3,000 businesses, civic organizations, educational institutions, and individuals. According to the chamber’s website, “Its mission is to provide leadership that facilitates the creation of a prosperous regional economy and effective advocacy for its members.”
Posted inAustin
Task force releases initial recommendations on reopening Central Texas
Last week, the Austin Chamber of Commerce sent Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt the initial recommendations of the Opening Central Texas for Business Task Force. The task force, which is made up of 125 members representing a broad array of business and community interests, has worked since the end of April […]
Posted inAustin
City, county to work with business on reopening Central Texas
County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, Mayor Steve Adler and Austin Chamber President and CEO Laura Huffman announced the formation of the Opening Central Texas for Business Task Force in a Zoom press conference on Thursday morning. The county, city and chamber are teaming up to work out ways to reopen the local economy while continuing to […]
Posted inAustin
Chamber forecast sees tight labor, housing markets as biggest threat to Austin economy
Austin’s economy continues to be one of the strongest in the nation and should stay that way for the foreseeable future, but a national economist said the city’s extremely tight labor market is likely acting as a drag on the area’s overall growth. That was one of the takeaways shared Thursday by Sarah House, senior […]
Posted inTransportation
Chamber pushes ‘all of the above’ regional mobility solution
The Austin Chamber of Commerce pushed three desired outcomes at this year’s mobility summit: resolving traffic congestion on Interstate 35; passing the city’s first high-capacity transit bond; and clarifying the positions and goals of regional elected officials. To fix I-35, Brian Cassidy, chair of the chamber’s board of directors, said the region knows what it […]
Posted inAustin
Austin economy looks sunny, with affordability as the biggest cloud
Austin business and policy leaders were shown a optimistic picture of the state and local economy Thursday at the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s annual economic forecast, with the smallest concern on the horizon partly a result of the city’s strong growth for more than a decade. The fundamentals for the city remain strong. Austin is […]
Posted inAustin
Chamber conference tackles pains (and gains) of Austin businesses
Business owners and leaders gathered Thursday for the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s State of Talent conference sounded a common refrain: Life in a bustling and fast-growing population center doesn’t guarantee easy days of cash registers that ring by themselves. Rather, compounding issues of growing labor costs, competition for workers, and transportation and affordability issues making […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Which side?
More news from the Amazon (bid)… Austin has landed on the bad side of an LGBT rights group’s effort to influence online retail giant Amazon’s decision on where to build its next headquarters. The “No Gay? No Way!” campaign issued a statement last week that singled out nine of the 20 finalist sites for being located […]
Posted inAustin
Affordability questions linger for businesses, residents in Austin economic forecast
Economists and business leaders expect Austin to see continued strong job growth and business activity in 2018, though more than a decade of rapid population growth may start to put downward pressure on hiring and new activity in the city’s core. That forecast came from Mark Vitner, an economist with Wells Fargo, who delivered the […]
Posted inAustin
Leaders say Austin’s Amazon hopes hang on transit, permitting issues
While Amazon executives take the next few months or more to pick the location for a massive new second headquarters, Austin real estate and business leaders hope the national audition process has caused local leaders to think about much-needed improvements throughout the city. That was one of the recurring discussion points at a panel organized […]
Posted inAustin
A sick leave ordinance is coming, but details are unclear
A coalition of city leaders and advocacy groups is pushing for Austin to join many of the nation’s largest cities in requiring employers to provide employees with a certain number of paid sick days. On Nov. 15 at the People’s Community Clinic in Northeast Austin, a group of small business owners assembled to lend their […]
Posted inAustin
Job declines linked to affordability, immigration policies in chamber report
When considering a recent decrease in the number of jobs available in the Austin area, a top official with the Austin Chamber of Commerce points to slow action at the city and state levels to keep Central Texas attractive for business. The chamber’s July job postings report notes a decrease of 3,300 available jobs in […]