Savannah Chamber

27 12 homes will be the primary drivers of the Atlanta MSA's homebuilding industry. Albany From peak-to-trough the Albany MSA lost 9.7 percent of its jobs to the COVID-19 recession. Albany recovered 14 percent of its losses in the initial three month rebound. The nation and the state's job markets took harder hits than Albany's job market. It's not surprising therefore that the initial bounce in job growth once the economy reopened was smaller in Albany than in the state or the nation. In 2021, the Albany MSA's economy will grow more slowly than Georgia's economy, which mostly reflect pre-pandemic growth trends. Nonetheless, Albany has less economic wreckage to clear. On an annual average basis, the Albany area is expected to add 400 jobs – a 0.6 percent increase. The completion of Georgia-Pacific LLC's new lumber production facility will help support the local economy in 2021. When announced, the state-of-the-art manufacturing plant was estimated to support 140 direct jobs. Proximity to raw materials coupled with Dougherty County's rail and highway infrastructure helped Albany compete for – and win – this advanced manufacturing project. Top employers include Phoebe Putney Health Systems, the Marine Corps Logistics Base, Procter & Gamble, Albany State University, and Miller Brewing Company. The area's leading high-wage industries include the federal government, offices of physicians, and converted paper product manufacturing. The leading mid-wage industries include general medical and surgical hospitals, architectural & engineering services, and building equipment contractors. The leading low-wage industries include local government, restaurants, state government, and farms. The Albany MSA includes Baker, Dougherty, Lee, Terrell, and Worth counties. Compared to the state and the nation, Albany's economy is more dependent on government, retailing, health care, and agriculture. These industries suffered less than many others during the virus crisis, which limited jobs losses in Albany. In contrast, Albany's economic is relatively less dependent on information, financial activities, manufacturing, educational services, and professional & technical services. Albany is about equally dependent as the nation on accommodation and food services other services, and wholesale trade. The Albany MSA has very few high-tech jobs – 2.1 percent of total employment in Albany versus 4.4 percent for Georgia and 5.0 percent for the US. Increased defense spending will benefit the area as will higher spending on health care, but retail jobs will continue to decline. Within manufacturing, Albany is much more focused the production of nondurable goods than either the state or the nation, which helped during the pandemic. Over time that focus tends to work to Albany's advantage because sales of nondurable goods are less cyclical than sales of durable goods. Consequently, activity in Albany's manufacturing sector is relatively stable. Compared to the nation, Albany's economy is more dependent on domestic markets and not as dependent on export markets, which helped during the pandemic. Exports account for only 3.7 percent of the area's GDP. Food products are the main export and Asia is the primary destination. Albany therefore does face direct exposure to the trade war and the recent retreat from globalization, but the fallout should be manageable. Albany's strengths include low business and living costs and low employment volatility. In addition, Albany is a regional transportation hub. The area's weaknesses include low educational attainment of the workforce, few high-tech jobs, low per capita incomes, weak demographic trends, and a high poverty rate. Population outmigration and weak household formation have hurt consumer industries, including retailing, homebuilding, and real estate development. One economic stabilizer for Albany is that much of the area's remaining manufacturing base produces basic consumer staples, which households continue to buy whether or not the economy is expanding. Proctor and Gamble, Miller Brewing, Mars, and Tyson Foods are good examples. Coats' decision to continue its manufacturing and distribution operations in Albany – in the wake of the destruction of its distribution center by a tornado in 2017 – helps to stabilize the area's manufacturing base. Albany's assets include a low cost of living and doing business, an excellent telecommunications infrastructure, good 4-lane highway access, the Marine Corps Logistic Base, a major University System of Georgia institution, an excellent technical college, the new 4C Academy, and a reputation as a good place to live and raise a family. These assets will provide more advantage to the area's economy once the overall economic situation facing the state and the nation improve. Albany's economy is slowly transforming itself. Albany is moving away from traditional manufacturing and government towards private-sector service providing industries. For example, the health care industry has been a very reliable source of job growth .

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