Savannah Chamber

53 Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce 2019 Economic Trends 8 Employment (By Place of Work) By Sector The Savannah MSA workforce increased 0.4% to 179,000 workers from 2017 to 2018. This represents a post- recession high watermark. Several sectors experienced significant growth in 2018, reflecting healthy business conditions in the region: information (+100 jobs, 5.6% growth), manufacturing (+600 jobs, 3.5% growth), and wholesale trade (+200 jobs, 2.8% growth). Also notable is the 2.7% increase (+200 jobs) in the construction and mining. Nearly all sectors experienced growth from 2017 to 2018 except for retail trade (-500 jobs), government (-200 jobs), and financial activities (-100 jobs). Employment – Annual Averages Savannah MSA Industry 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Change 2012-18 Change 2017-18 Total Nonfarm* 156,00 160,200 165,400 171,600 175,800 178,200 179,000 14.7% 0.4% Construction & Mining 5,600 5,600 5,900 6,400 6,900 7,300 7,500 33.9% 2.7% Manufacturing 14,800 15,000 15,000 17,400 17,000 17,000 17,600 18.9% 3.5% Wholesale Trade 5,900 6,400 6,400 6,300 6,700 7,200 7,400 25.4% 2.8% Retail Trade 18,200 18,800 19,800 20,600 21,500 21,800 21,300 17.0% -2.3% Transportation & Utilities 10,000 9,900 11,00 12,100 12,200 12,300 12,600 26.0% 2.4% Information 1,400 1,400 1,800 1,900 1,800 1,900 2,000 42.9% 5.3% Financial Activities 6,100 6,400 6,400 6,500 6,500 6,200 6,100 0.0% -1.6% Professional & Business Services 18,400 19,200 19,200 18,900 19,600 20,300 20,400 10.9% 0.5% Education & Health Services 23,900 24,300 24,300 25,300 26,200 26,500 26,700 11.7% 0.8% Leisure & Hospitality 21,500 22,500 24,000 25,300 26,000 26,200 26,300 22.3% 0.4% Other Services 6,800 7,000 7,100 7,200 7,300 7,300 7,200 5.9% -1.4% Government-Federal 3,200 3,000 3,000 2,900 2,900 2,900 2,900 -9.4% 0.0% Government-State & Local 20,400 20,600 20,600 20,700 21,300 21,300 21,100 3.4% -0.9% Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, State and Area Employment, Hours and Earnings (2018 data are annualized seasonally adjusted through October.) Retrieved at www.bls.gov on 12/11/2018. * NOTE: BLS data are benchmarked annually; data for 2012-2018 have been updated to reflect these changes. Where the Jobs Are Nearly all post-recession job growth in the Savannah MSA has occurred in the private sector. Since 2012, employment in leisure/hospitality and education/health services have grown to become the largest segments of the regional economy. Other notable growth since 2012 has occurred in transportation/utilities, reflecting very strong growth in cargo handling at the Georgia Ports Authority terminals. Five sectors hold similar proportions of total employment in the Savannah MSA, further attesting to the area's healthy, diverse industry mix: education and health services (14.9%), leisure and hospitality (14.7%), retail trade (11.9%), state and local government (11.8%), and professional and business services (11.4%). Manufacturing accounts for 9.8% of the area's jobs.

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