Ask most tech startup founders in Austin about the labor market, and they'll tell you it's tough to find the right people with the right skills to build out a growing team.
That's largely a product of fierce competition for experienced tech professionals versed in specific skill sets -- be it a programming language or deep knowledge of other sales and marketing software.
But a new report shows that Austin is near the front of a growing pack of tech hubs when it comes to tech talent. Austin ranks No. 6 overall for its tech talent labor pool, according to commercial real estate giant CBRE. It trailed San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and New York.
But it has certain advantages and disadvantages as you dig deeper.
For example, Austin is listed as one of the most competitive markets in the nation, along with the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Denver. That can help drive up wages, as well as associated perks.
Meanwhile, the report shows about 7 percent of Austin's overall labor force is tech-oriented. That's nearly double the concentration of skilled tech professionals in New York, and it has continually grown its tech labor pool since CBRE started tracking comparable data in 2013.
“Demand from tech companies shows no sign of slowing and we are now seeing employers with a large tech workforce targeting submarkets outside traditional Austin tech hubs, such as east and south, in addition to continued demand in Austin’s Central Business District," Erin Morales, senior VP at CBRE in Austin, said in a news release.
The new analysis shows astounding growth across the board for the Austin metro -- some of it partially a product of Austin's continued population boom.
It grew the total number of people with tech degrees by nearly 40 percent from 2012 to 2017, with a big boom in computer engineering (67 percent). That fits with Austin's long-time reputation for having a highly-educated population. CBRE's stats show 51 percent of urban residents over age 25 have a bachelor's degree or higher -- the national average is 31 percent.
Meanwhile, the average tech wage has grown by 10.7 percent to reach $93,860. Computer and IT managers top the list for average salary at $155,420.
Meanwhile, CBRE's breakdown of rent-to-tech wage ratios shows Austin remains relatively affordable at 16.1 percent. In Manhattan and San Francisco Bay Area those ratios are much higher -- 43.6 percent and 26.4 percent, respectively.
"Companies continue to find that Austin can provide them high-quality labor at a lower overhead, compared with other top markets, in a community that their employees and their families want to live in," Morales said.
