Savannah Chamber

2019 Economic Trends

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17 costs on the margin. Tight labor markets will temper job growth. Low productivity growth will limit increases in wages and salaries, which in turn will limit growth in consumer spending. Asset markets will be vulnerable to correction. Georgia's unemployment rate for 2019 will average 3.7 percent, or about 0.4 percentage points lower than the 4.1 percent rate estimated for 2018. The unemployment rate will not come down very much in 2019 because of in- migration of workers from other states, increases in labor force participation, and the slowdown in job growth. In addition, the unemployment rate is already at a very low level. In general, the pattern of job growth across industries established in 2015-18 will repeat in 2019. The fastest job growth will occur in construction, followed by education and health services, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and mining and logging. Solid, but below-average job growth will occur in manufacturing, financial activities as well as trade, transportation & utilities. Positive, but slow job growth is projected for information and government. None of the major sectors of Georgia's economy will lose jobs in 2019. Prospects for Service Producing Industries in 2019 Service producing businesses led the upturn in Georgia's economy that began in early 2010, but some major service industry subsectors – financial activities and information – initially did not participate and continued to cut jobs. The 2019 forecast indicates that all Georgia's major categories of service-related businesses will expand, with the broader base of growth reflecting the upturn in housing markets, growing demand for information and high technology services, and competitive economic development incentives. Fintech, transactions processing, data processing, cyber security, and development of software and mobile apps will power Georgia's economic growth. IT companies that announced major projects in 2015-18, include Salesforce, Facebook, BurningCastle LLC, InComm, Pandora, OneTrust, Accenture, Assurant, CryusOne, Switch PRIME, Sysnet Global Solutions, Global Technology, Better Cloud, GE Digital, Honeywell, NCR, VIX Global Solutions, ADP, Keysight Technologies, VIX Verify, Merchant e-Solutions, Applied Systems, Courion, Sage, and Stefanini. Fintech will continue to become a major cluster in the Atlanta MSA. For example, BlackRock will create an innovation hub in Atlanta, creating 1,000 jobs over the next several years. In addition, Fiserv, a provider of financial services and technology solutions, will add 500 jobs over five years, bringing its total employment to about 2,500 workers. The Georgia FinTech Academy will provide the talent needed to attract more financial technology companies to Georgia. Similarly, cyber security is becoming a major cluster in the Augusta MSA. The Georgia Cyber Training and Innovation Center in Augusta will provide the talent needed to attract even more cyber security firms. Healthcare IT is an industry that promises to create thousands of high-paying jobs in Georgia over the next decade. For example, athenahealth will add 500 jobs over 3 years, doubling its workforce in the Atlanta area. In 2016, Anthem Inc. announced that it would create 1,800 healthcare IT jobs at a services hub in midtown Atlanta. In addition, Kaiser Permanente announced that it would create 800 jobs in the Atlanta MSA, which are in addition to the 900 jobs announced in 2015 that would be created at its new IT facility in midtown Atlanta. In 2016, Anthem, Inc. announced that it will create 450 new health-IT jobs in Columbus. In 2019, the build out of headquarters projects announced over the last several years will be an important force powering Georgia's economic growth. At this stage of the business cycle, not very many new headquarters projects will be announced, but previously announced projects will continue to spur growth as they build out more fully and become more interwoven into the business fabric of the state. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Georgia's ideal geographic location makes Georgia a good hub from which to serve operations in the Americas. Access to talent and the strength of the business community also are important drivers of headquarters locations in the Atlanta MSA. According to FEMA, Georgia has a very low risk for business disruption due to natural disasters, which is an important consideration for headquarters locations. Twenty-six companies' headquarters in the Atlanta MSA rank among the 2018 Fortune 1000, placing Atlanta behind only New York City and Houston among U.S. metros headquartering Fortune 1000 companies. Projects announced in 2015-2018 that brought, or will soon bring, job gains at headquarters operations include Fox Factory Holding Corp, Floor & Décor, Inspire Brands, Thyssenkrupp, Groupe PSA, Pandora, Elastron, Lidl, Mercedes

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