Local news and fun, every day 6am.
Featured
austonia newsletter
Most viewed

A record number of workers quit their jobs in April, according to the latest available date from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Pexels)
Welcome to the Great Resignation.
Amid a flurry of job openings across the U.S., workers are quitting their jobs en masse.
A record 4 million people quit their jobs in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And many others are considering joining them. In a recent poll of 649 employed workers, Monster found that 95% were considering quitting their jobs and 92% were willing to switch industries for a new role.
just quit my job, best feeling in the world, can i get an amen
— alli perez (@LilAFrxmThePack) July 1, 2021
Going back to the office makes we want to quit my job
— ✚✖ (0%) (@mariatellaa) July 2, 2021
Jacqueline Moreno, 22, quit her sales job in the Austin office of a publicly traded financial advisory firm on June 8, despite not having a new job lined up. She had accepted the position after graduating from Texas State University with a degree in public relations in the early months of the pandemic. But she found the role wasn't a good fit. Her starting position as a contractor routinely had her working 55 to 60 hours a week, and she struggled to make ends meet, applying for food stamps. "I want to be happy and not dread going to work," she said.
Moreno's not alone. Workers are looking for better pay, remote options and work-life balance. Some have built up a financial safety net with stimulus payments that allows them to spend time between jobs. Others are worried about workplace safety given the lingering pandemic, and many are burnt out or acting on pent-up frustrations.
"Combined, higher employee burnout and enhanced financial security is a recipe for increased resignations," Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University, wrote in a May 30 opinion piece for NBC News.
The labor market is also hot, which means workers feel confident they will be able to find a new and better job. "Whenever openings are higher, quits are higher," according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Before quitting, Moreno spent about a month clandestinely applying for jobs in the public relations and communications sector. She has received two offers but turned them down. "There's a lot of job openings," she said. "I just want to make sure I'm finding a really good fit, long term."
Employers in Austin and around the country are offering higher wages and improved benefits in an effort to recruit and retain workers.
- P. Terry's and JuiceLand recently raised their wages, the latter in response to an ongoing worker strike.
- The median pay for Austin Uber drivers is $33 an hour, before tips, according to the company's first-quarter earnings call in May.
- Local startup Dosh debuted Dosh Days—a surprise, company-wide Friday off.
- Dell Technologies, one of the metro's largest employers, already offered remote work options before the pandemic and continues to encourage flexibility.
Still companies are contending with a worsening labor shortage, which spans industries and predates the pandemic, leaving job seekers with the upper hand. The average lowest wage a worker without a college degree would be willing to accept for a new job is now $61,482, an all-time high, according to the New York Fed's latest labor market survey. For college graduates, the average lowest wage is $86,460.
If unemployed workers flood into the labor market in search of new jobs, it could turn the tide. Texas opted out of all federal unemployment assistance programs on June 26, months earlier than the expected cutoff in early September. Gov. Greg Abbott cited the current number of job openings and potentially fraudulent unemployment claims as reasons for the decision.
But other factors could prolong the Great Resignation, including COVID fears and care responsibilities. A recent study by the Austin-based jobs site Indeed found that only 10% of people between 18 and 64 were urgently searching for work. And job searches remain muted in around half of the states that opted out of federal unemployment benefits.
Moreno is optimistic about the Austin jobs market. "I have no regrets at all," she said of quitting. "I think I made the right decision completely."
- Austin millennials lead recent labor union drives - austonia ›
- Austin restaurants struggle to hire workers after pandemic year ... ›
- Austin's growing tech industry deepens labor shortage - austonia ›
- Buc-ee's avoids national workers shortage with benefits - austonia ›
- Austin has worse national worker shortage with less workers ... ›
- Americans thriving in June after a year of pandemic life - austonia ›
- Workers for Austin pizza chain Via 313 stage a protest for sick pay, safe COVID conditions - austonia ›
- Still no word from Austin's Via 313 management as pizzeria employees continue to protest - austonia ›
- After viral TikTok, an Austin Dollar Tree closes with just one employee left to run the store - austonia ›
Popular
(Austonia)
May's second election is here, in which voters will decide on the candidates to represent their party in the November general election after the winner in some March primary races was unclear.
Just like the March primaries, voters will choose which party they choose to vote in. Then based on location, each ballot will show which races are in a runoff.
In Texas, candidates must win at least 50% of the vote to be elected. In the races where the top candidate only received a plurality of votes, a runoff is being held.
Here's everything you need to know before heading to the polls.
Know before you go
Early voting for the Texas primary runoff election begins Monday and will last through May 20; Election Day is May 24.
The registration period for this election has passed; check if you're registered to vote here.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. As long as you're in line by 7 p.m., you can vote.
You'll need a valid photo ID to present once you're at a polling location.
Here are the early voting locations in Travis County.
View wait times at polling locations here.
Races to watch in Travis County:
Statewide
Lieutenant Governor
- Republican: Incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick won his primary in March.
- Democratic: Mike Collier and Michelle Beckley are vying to be the Democrat candidate on the ballot.
- Republican: Incumbent AG Ken Paxton is fighting for his seat against George P. Bush.
- Democratic: Rochelle Garza and Joe Jaworski will face off to be the Democratic candidate in this race.
View all the statewide races on the ballot here.
U.S. House of Representatives
View the district you live in here.
District 21
- Republican: Incumbent Chip Roy won his primary in March.
- Democratic: Claudia Andreana Zapata and Ricardo Villarreal are hoping to secure this vote.
- Republican: Dan McQueen and Michael Rodriguez are going head to head to be the Republican candidate in this race.
- Democratic: Former Austin council member Greg Casar won this race in March.
District 19
- Republican: Ellen Troxclair and Justin Berry are vying to be the Republican candidate in this race.
- Democratic: Pam Baggett won her primary in March.
Texas has been home to some of the country’s biggest celebrities of all time—think Amarillo resident Georgia O'Keeffe, Lubbock’s Buddy Holly and Corpus Christi’s famous singer Selena.
The Pudding’s People Map of the U.S., which shows each city’s “most Wikipedia’ed” resident, placed celebrities from all walks of life on the Texas map. As for Central Texas celebrities, there are some interesting (and not so surprising) names on deck.
(The Pudding)
Proving that Austin is “alright, alright, alright,” Minister of Culture Matthew McConaughey is both Austin’s and Uvalde’s top Wikipedia’ed resident. McConaughey, who was born in San Antonio adjacent Uvalde, has deeply ingrained himself in Austin by studying Radio-Television-Film at UT Austin, starring in the Austin-filmed movie “Dazed and Confused” and investing in Austin FC.
Heading down just a few miles south, San Marcos claimed former president Lyndon Baines Johnson as Texas State University’s most famous alumni, who graduated in 1930, and was also named in Fredericksburg. LBJ wasn’t the only ex-president on the map—George W. Bush was listed as the top resident in Dallas, Midland, Houston and Crawford.
You’ll see some other names with ties to Austin strewn around the state: Janis Joplin in Beaumont and Port Arthur; Stone Cold Steve Austin in Victoria and Edna; Dan Rather in his hometown of Wharton; and Waylon Jennings in Littlefield.
Venturing outside of the central areas, there are big celebrities who call Texas Home. Actress and artist Selena Gomez dominated search traffic in her hometown of Grand Prairie, musical artist Post Malone was most “Wikipedia’ed” in Grapevine, and Shaquille O’Neal was named in the city where he went to high school, San Antonio.
Plus, Thomas Haden Church, Angela Kinsey, Jessica Simpson, Chuck Norris, Roy Orbison, Ron White, Jessica Alba, Colt McCoy, Jimmy Dean and Johnny Manziel all had at least one city covered on the list.
Where’s Texas’ newest resident, Elon Musk? You’ll find him still in Los Angeles, as his foray into Texas living has just begun.
Click here to view the full map.