What we reported Many of the 50-plus Central Austin restaurants and bars that closed in 2018, including The Frisco Shop in North Austin and Conans Pizza in West Campus, cited staffing challenges as a factor in their decisions. Compounding this issue are the nearly 100 bars and restaurants that opened in 2018, per research by Community Impact Newspaper, and the Austin-Round Rock metro’s near-historically low unemployment rate —2.7 percent in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest “The struggle for employers in Austin right now is that a lot of job-seekers just aren’t interested in this kind of work” which is often demanding and low-wage, said David Olson, communications and grant coordinator for Workforce Solutions of the Capital Area. The result? “We have jobs that are going unfilled,” said Richie Jackson, CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. This post is part of Community Impact Newspaper’s Annual Community Guide, which appears in the January 2019 Central Austin print edition. In addition to ten stories to follow for the upcoming year, the Annual Community Guide provides readers with local information on the area’s demographics as well as the latest news in transportation, health care, education and development.