Information Technology: No Signs of a Slowdown (Huh?)
This one is bound to raise an eyebrow or two. After hangin' here on door64 for all this time, and reading what people are actually thinking, I'm coming to the conclusion that the people who write these articles, don't really know what's goin' on.
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That sort of puff article
That sort of puff article doesn't surprise me anymore. I kind of suspect that they are actually paid promotional pieces and they don't know or care what is actually happening out there. As you undoubtedly notice they trot out the same government and think tank numbers as every other similar article to prop up their facade. But as we've discussed before around here -- those numbers don't tell the complete story. While Austin may be comparatively better off than some other cities, it certainly doesn't mean that all is rosy and that local companies and tech workers aren't struggling to make it right now.
I understand completely. I
I understand completely. I think one of things happening here is that the actual dependence of Austin on IT is not considered when they look at raw numbers (I'm talking specifically about the jobs in Austin that are IT related as a percentage of the total). From my perception, Austin is very IT dependent.
I agree with your
I agree with your perception. Even by that article they say that 1/3 of professional, non-government jobs in the Austin area are with tech related companies. That is way more than most other cities. Probably a higher percentage than anywhere with the possible exception of the SF/SV Bay Area, Seattle and Boston all of which are much larger population centers. There is absolutely no doubt that Austin is much more tech-dependent than San Antonio, DFW or Houston. When there is a downturn that affects tech like there was in 2001, Austin hurts bad. The assertions that tech is going to be immune from the current economic bloodbath we are going through or even that it won't be hurt as bad as other areas seem pretty weak. I certainly hope the eternal IT optimists are right, but I think we all need to be prepared for the worst just in case. I sometimes wish that Austin's job market was a little more diverse so that we'd have some sort of refuge when the tech sector tanks.
Actually, while the economy
Actually, while the economy in San Antonio is less tech-centric than that of Austin, the most important difference is that the technology sector in SA is a lot more diversified and dispersed than that of Ausitn. If you subtract the travel/tourism sector, and discount the military (not entirely reject it), there is biotech, biomechanical, defense, cyber, security, IT, manufacturing and a few others.