Editing Austin, Minnesota (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Downtown Austin MN looking south.jpg|thumb|Downtown Austin]]
With [[Hormel]]'s corporate headquarters and main production facility in Austin, food processing plays a dominant role in the city's economy. Hormel and Quality Pork Processors, a contract food processing firm serving Hormel, are by far the city's largest private employers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ci.austin.mn.us/Econdev/major.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517063604/http://www.ci.austin.mn.us/Econdev/major.htm|url-status=dead|title=City of Austin, Minnesota - Major Employers & Workforce|date=April 2004|archivedate=May 17, 2008}}</ref> Though most famous for SPAM, Hormel also produces many other brands, such as Jennie-O turkey, Muscle Milk, Skippy peanut butter, and Dinty Moore beef stew.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hormelfoods.com/About/DivisionsLocations/Business-Divisions.aspx |title=Business Divisions |author=<!--not stated--> |website=Hormel Foods |access-date=September 4, 2016}}</ref>

The government, education, hospitality, and retail sectors comprise much of the remainder of Austin's employment base.

Hormel's consistent and steady growth have resulted in below-average unemployment rates for Austin and Mower County in recent years. As of February 2016 the unemployment rate was 3.7% in Austin and Mower County, below both the state and national average.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southernminn.com/owatonna_peoples_press/news/local/article_1734cb0a-096b-5415-9546-60c6c3c38db0.html |title=Unemployment inches up across the region |last1=Jackson |first1=Jeffrey |date=March 17, 2016 |website=Austin Daily Herald |access-date=March 23, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austindailyherald.com/2016/03/jobless-rate-remains-flat-in-region/ |title=Jobless rate remains flat in region |last1=Jackson |first1=Jeffrey |date=March 31, 2016 |website=Austin Daily Herald |access-date=March 23, 2016}}</ref>

Austin-area businesses and community actively supported an application to participate as a test community in the [[Google Fiber]] project, begun in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austindailyherald.com/2011/03/24/austin-high-rallies-for-google-fiber/|title=Austin High Rallies for Google Fiber|website=austindailyherald.com|date=March 24, 2011|access-date=May 12, 2019}}</ref> Though unsuccessful in their bid, the adoption of high-speed fiber optic and wireless internet throughout Austin is one of the Vision 2020 committee's goals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gigaustin.org/ |title=GigAustin-Home |author=<!--not stated--> |website=Gig Austin |access-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110101823/http://gigaustin.org/ |archive-date=January 10, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Austin's retail business struggled during the [[Great Recession]], including the demise of the Oak Park Mall. As of 2017 the business climate had improved, including a major redevelopment of the former mall site. Downtown remains vibrant as well, including construction of a new SPAM Museum in 2016.

===Top employers===
[[File:Riverland Community College - Austin campus.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Riverland Community College]] is one of Austin's top employers.]]
According to Austin's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (2022),<ref>{{cite web|title=Comprehensive Annual Financial Report |page=188 |url=https://www.ci.austin.mn.us/Administration/pdf/2022ACFR.pdf |access-date=November 20, 2023}}</ref> the top employers in the city are:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of Employees
|-
|1
|[[Hormel Foods]]
|3,255
|-
|2
|Quality Pork Processors
|1,225
|-
|3
|[[Mayo Clinic Health System]]
|900
|-
|4
|[[Austin High School (Minnesota)|Austin Public Schools]] ISD No. 492
|850
|-
|5
|[[Walmart]]
|325
|-
|6
|[[Hy-Vee]]
|300
|-
|7
|[[Mower County, Minnesota|Mower County]]
|274
|-
|8
|[[Riverland Community College]]
|240
|-
|9
|City of Austin
|219
|-
|10
|Cedar Valley Services
|192
|}