Apple has created more than 2,000 new jobs in Austin since 2012 and is on track to meet the area hiring goals it promised in exchange for millions of dollars in public incentives, according to documents filed with the city.
The technology giant is set to receive $35 million in tax incentives over the next several years from the city of Austin, Travis County and the state of Texas for an expansion of its operations in central Texas, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Under the terms of the incentives package, which was signed in March 2012, Apple Inc. agreed to create more than 3,600 new full-time jobs in Austin in 10 years while retaining at least 3,100 existing full-time jobs year over year.
According to the agreement, the average wage for those new jobs is to be $54,000 a year in the first year of the expansion and will stretch to $73,500 in the 10th year.
Apple said last year that it was well ahead of hiring projections. A more recent report -- filed in March by Terry Ryan, Apple's senior tax manager -- indicated that the company continues to outpace the requirements.
As of Dec. 31, the total number of full-time Apple jobs in Austin was 5,102, according to the company's report. That includes 2,089 new jobs created since 2012, according to the report -- an average of more than 550 a year. The agreement calls for Apple to create 300 new jobs by the end of 2016.
Also, report says there were 904 contract employees as of the last day of 2015.
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If Apple reaches its hiring goals, it will become the second-largest technology employer in Central Texas, behind only Dell Inc.
In a written statement, Apple said: "We're incredibly proud that Apple's innovation supports tens of thousands of jobs across a wide range of industries in Texas."
Jon Hockenyos, an Austin economist, said the types of jobs Apple is creating at the campus are a key component to the region's economy.
"They provide solid middle-class incomes that sustain families," he said. "They're the kind of jobs any city wants to see being created."
