Savannah Chamber

31 16 a college town, millennials and renters play an outsized role in the area's housing market. The Athens MSA ranks 24 th highest among US metros in the percentage of renter occupied housing units – 41 percent are renter occupied. The MSA ranks high in terms of the proportion of multi-unit attached housing, but very low in the proportion of single-unit detached housing. In the second quarter of 2020 the prices of existing homes in the Athens MSA exceeded their pre-Great Recession level by 29 percent. The year-over-year – 2019 Q2 compared to 2020 Q2 – percentage increase in home prices was a very strong 7.2 percent. Single-family home prices will continue to rise through 2021, but at a much slower rate than in recent years. Sustained increases in home prices will support consumer spending – especially on home improvements – and entrepreneurial activity. Augusta From peak-to-trough the Augusta MSA lost 10.2 percent of its jobs to the COVID-19 recession. The heaviest job losses were in the leisure & hospitality, information, other services, and professional & business services industries. The nation and the state's job markets took harder hits than Augusta. In the initial three month rebound, the Augusta MSA recovered 45 percent of its job losses, which was on par with the rebound posted by the nation as a whole. In 2021, Augusta's employment is expected to increase by 2,800 jobs. That is more than the 2,000 jobs added in 2019 – the year prior to the COVID-19 recession. The 1.2 percent pace of job growth expected for 2021 will be lower than the 1.5 percent pace estimated for the state, but it will exceed the 0.9 percent gain forecast for the nation. It helps that a good proportion of Augusta's new jobs will be high-skill, high-pay jobs. The build out of the US Army Cyber Command, the recent opening of the Georgia Cyber Training and Innovation Center, the area's focus on clinical health care, and the area's post-secondary education industries are major positives for Augusta's economic outlook. In addition, the MSA's economy is not very dependent on exports – 3.8 percent of GDP – and therefore Augusta not overly vulnerable to trade shocks. Population growth and net migration have been very strong over 2015-2020 and that trend will continue in 2021. The focus on government, education, healthcare, and cybersecurity makes Augusta's economy less cyclical than either the state or the national economies. In 2021, Augusta's economy will benefit from the continuation of the controversial construction of two nuclear power plants at Plant Vogtle. Augusta is a center for telecommunications services and call centers, including telemarketing and reservations. University Hospital is rated high performing in five adult procedures and conditions. The Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center and Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon provide critical mass to the area's healthcare industry. The Georgia Medical Authority will use the expertise available at Augusta University to establish Augusta as a center for the rapidly growing life sciences industry. Clarks Hill Lake will be an important factor in retiree- based and second-home development, which will have beneficial spillover effects on the area's healthcare industry. The area's leading high wage industries include the federal government, offices of physicians, waste treatment and disposal, and architectural and engineering firms. Leading mid-wage industries include the military, local government, and state government. Leading low-wage industries include restaurants, general merchandise stores, grocery stores, and providers of services to buildings & dwellings. The Augusta MSA includes Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, and Richmond counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina. Fort Gordon adds substantially to the Augusta's prospects for growth. Fort Gordon also adds to the area's supply of well-trained, skilled workers. Fort Gordon has been tapping into the recent expansion of federal defense spending. The US Army's 2013 decision to focus its cyber-related operations, development, and training in Augusta shifted the regional economy onto a new, substantially higher and more prosperous, growth trajectory, but the shift will continue to be gradual rather than abrupt. The push to economic growth arising from the move of the US Army's Cyber Command will occur over many years because takes a long time to implement the mission and build out the facilities. The push to growth is well underway. For example, the Cyber Center of Excellence is already operational. In late 2016, the Cyber Command broke ground on its new headquarters. The facility was originally scheduled for completion in mid-2020 and the command will move from Fort Belvoir, Virginia to Fort Gordon shortly thereafter. In addition to the direct creation of military and civilian jobs at the Cyber Command, the relocation of the Cyber Command makes Augusta a place where military contractors congregate. For example, Unisys provides services to the US Army at Fort Gordon. Similarly, BurningCastle LLC was awarded a contract with the U.S. Army to provide IT and logistics training at Fort Gordon and will create 50 jobs in IT and cybersecurity instruction. Other defense contractors are opening offices and expanding operations. Such activities will intensify as the Cyber Command

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