• 1
  Introduction
• 2
  Economic geography
• 3
  Economic diversity
• 4
  Workforce
• 5
  Business attraction and retention
• 6
  Goals and policies
• 7
  Indicators and actions

Jobs and economic competitiveness Introduction

San Antonio is an attractive place to do business. We’re business friendly, with an affordable tax environment and business-friendly government supportive of new and developing businesses. We’re strategically located near the major sea ports of Houston and Corpus Christi and on the roadway and railway corridors that connect with Mexico, Canada, and the East and West Coasts. We have world-class universities and colleges. Our City-owned utilities, CPS Energy and San Antonio Water System, provide affordable energy and water with stable pricing. And, perhaps most important, San Antonio offers a high quality of life with a focus on family that attracts young workers.

There’s no doubt that our city has strong assets and emerging economic opportunities. But in the coming years, we must focus on opportunities and challenges that have been uncovered in an honest assessment of our city’s economic competitiveness and the jobs available to our residents. Our economic geography lacks modern planning, the airport is constrained, our workforce lags behind in education and wages, college graduates are leaving the city and there’s a lack of diversity in jobs and wage levels. As in many other elements, it’s clear that without a unifying, long-term plan, the region may very well be headed toward a stagnating economy with minimal job gains in an increasing competitive global market. The Jobs and Economic Competitiveness (JEC) goals and policies were developed to meet the five economic key challenges for our city that follow.