According to Austin’s Chamber of Commerce, Austin added 30,000 net new jobs over the last year and, Austin’s unemployment is hovering around 2.8%.   This means that top talent is working and most likely not looking for a job.  More and more companies that we talk to are looking outside of Austin to find their next hire.  Further, companies are realizing they need to take a look at their compensation and determine if they need to adjust for the current labor shortage.  This applies for new hires as well as for current employees in an effort to hire and retain experienced talent.Because of the growth Austin is experiencing, we’re routinely asked to help with company’s compensation benchmarks, training programs for employee development and traditional headhunting to offset what we call “posting and praying.”  Austin’s landscape is changing rapidly, and it’s more important than ever for companies to be planning for these types of initiatives proactively.We’re putting the word out that we would love to hear from companies that have historically not thought to reach out to us.