Savannah Chamber

Savannah Economic Trends Brochure 2021

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25 10 networks – will benefit Atlanta significantly. In order, the Atlanta MSA's top ten employers are Emory University/Emory Healthcare, Delta Air Lines, Home Depot, Northside Hospital, Piedmont Healthcare, Publix Supermarkets, WellStar Health Systems, The Kroger Company, AT&T, and UPS. None of the Atlanta area's top ten employers are government organizations. Atlanta is the cultural center of the Southeast. The population's level of educational attainment exceeds the national average, providing essential talent to the area's innovation ecosystem. Prior to COVID-19, Atlanta's hospitality industry was thriving, but in 2021 it will struggle to recovery from the pandemic. The Atlanta MSA is dependent on two highly cyclical industries – distribution and new construction, both of which will outperform the overall economy in 2021. Exports account for about 6.3 percent of the area's GDP. The MSA therefore is not overly dependent on export markets. Immigrants account for 13.7 percent of the MSA's population, ranking 55 th among all MSAs. Thus, changes in US immigration laws or stricter enforcement of existing immigration laws will affect the Atlanta MSA's economic performance. The Atlanta MSA's main weakness is an overburdened infrastructure. Atlanta has many high-tech jobs – 5.9 percent of total employment in the Atlanta MSA versus 4.4 percent for Georgia and 5.0 percent for the US. In 2021, the area's high concentration of college-educated workers, business partners, cyber security, high-tech companies, innovation centers, and research universities will continue to attract high technology companies in life sciences, software development, research & development, healthcare IT, professional and business services, and advanced manufacturing. The CDC and nonprofits such as the national headquarters of the American Cancer Society and the Arthritis Foundation attracts life sciences companies. New high tech development (e.g., healthcare IT, Fintech, cyber security, software development, mobile apps, and corporate innovation centers) are growing rapidly in Atlanta. That growth will continue. The information industry is highly concentrated in the Atlanta MSA. Atlanta's high-tech development depends on easy access to quality universities, especially university research centers that transfer new ideas and technologies to local businesses. For example, the innovation district that developed around Tech Square has achieved the critical mass needed to attract high-tech companies to Midtown Atlanta. The innovation ecosystem in Midtown attracts established high-tech companies, high-tech startups, innovation centers, research and development centers, service providers, as well as venture capitalists. This vibrant innovation district is booming, but sustaining growth will require additional talent. In 2020, Microsoft announced that it will open a new facility that will focus on AI and cloud services in West Midtown Atlanta that will create 1,500 new jobs. Enterprise solutions and software company Milletech Systems Inc. announced that it will move its entire operation to Georgia, creating 465 jobs in Fulton County. Zillow announced that it will make Atlanta is Southeastern hub, bringing almost 200 jobs to the Atlanta MSA. RYSE Interactive, a digital media company, will establish a new create talent hub in Southwest Atlanta, creating about 85 jobs. The Atlanta MSA's high-tech development is not limited to the City of Atlanta. For example, a Fortune 1000 company, Deluxe will establish a new office complex with a FinTech and Customer Innovation Center in the City of Sandy Springs, creating 709 new jobs. Similarly, Toyota Financial Services will establish a FinTech operations hub in Cobb County that will create 150 jobs. Cobb County also will become the home to the North American headquarters of Skynamo, a field solutions software company. Compared to other large metropolitan areas with strong links to global markets the costs of living and doing business in the Atlanta MSA are low. Companies and nonprofit organizations looking to lower costs will continue to relocate to Atlanta. Access to workers, especially skilled labor, is vital to business success. Despite the limit that traffic congestion places on realistically accessible workers, many companies are attracted to Atlanta due to the large and diverse pool of workers. The pool of talent is large and deep for occupations that require a college degree as well as for occupations that do not require college degrees. In addition, the high concentration of colleges and universities ensures a large supply of experienced faculty, newly minted college graduates, and student interns. Less positively, stricter issuance of H-1B and H4 visas limits Atlanta's ability to attract international talent. This is a headwind for growth of Atlanta's high- technology industries. On an annual average basis, the 29-county Atlanta MSA will add 46,500 jobs in 2021, a year-over-year increase of 1.7 percent. The pace of job growth in the Atlanta MSA will exceed the pace expected for the state as a whole. Atlanta's high concentration of service producing industries, IT companies, distribution companies, e-commerce fulfillment centers, institutions of higher education, health care providers, life sciences companies and headquarters operations will keep Atlanta's job recovery in forward gear. It will help that many of the large economic development projects

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