Savannah Chamber

40 Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce 2023 Economic Trends 8 Employment (By Place of Work) By Sector The Savannah MSA workforce increased 4.8% to 199,500 workers from 2021 to 2022. All industries in the private sector experienced a rebound in 2022 reflecting continued recovery from the pandemic recession of 2020. Notable increases occurred in Leisure & Hospitality (+2,100 jobs, +8.4%), Business and Professional Services (+1,900 jobs, +7.2%), Education and Health Services (+1,300 jobs, +8.4%), Retail Trade (+900 jobs, +4.1%), and Manufacturing (+800 jobs, +4.5%). Public sector employment was nearly flat. State and local government employment was unchanged, but federal government shed 100 workers in 2022. Employment – Annual Averages Savannah MSA* Industry 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Change 2016-22 Change 2021-22 Total Nonfarm 177,600 180,800 185,800 189,900 180,400 190,400 199,500 12.3% 4.8% Construction, Mining, & Logging 6,900 7,500 8,400 8,200 8,200 8,000 8,700 26.1% 8.8% Manufacturing 17,100 17,300 18,200 18,700 17,500 17,900 18,700 9.4% 4.5% Wholesale Trade 6,200 6,300 6,500 6,500 6,400 6,700 7,100 14.5% 6.0% Retail Trade 21,500 21,900 22,200 22,100 21,400 22,200 23,100 7.4% 4.1% Transportation & Utilities 12,300 12,600 14,000 14,800 15,700 17,800 17,900 45.5% 0.6% Information** 1,800 2,200 1,900 2,800 1,800 2,800 3,800 111.1% 35.7% Financial Activities 6,400 6,200 6,200 6,400 6,100 6,500 6,700 4.7% 3.1% Professional & Business Services 21,500 22,400 23,400 24,200 23,800 26,300 28,200 31.2% 7.2% Education & Health Services 26,500 26,700 26,500 26,600 25,600 25,700 27,000 1.9% 5.1% Leisure & Hospitality 26,000 26,100 26,600 27,100 22,500 24,900 27,000 3.8% 8.4% Other Services 7,300 7,300 7,300 7,600 7,000 7,300 7,600 4.1% 4.1% Government-Federal 2,900 2,900 2,900 2,900 3,000 2,900 2,800 -3.4% -3.4% Government-State & Local 21,300 21,500 21,700 21,800 21,300 20,800 20,800 -2.3% 0.0% Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, State and Area Employment, Hours and Earnings (2022 data are annualized seasonally adjusted through November.) Retrieved at www.bls.gov on 12/28/2022. * BLS data are benchmarked and revised annually; data for 2016-22 have been updated to reflect these changes. **Data for the Information sector has been erratic in 2021 and 2022 and may be unreliable. These data are likely to be substantially revised. Recent Job Growth Nearly all job growth following the Great Recession of 2007-2009 occurred in the private sector of the Savannah MSA. More recently, sectors experiencing extraordinary growth since 2016 include the logistics industry (+45.5%), professional and business services (+31.2%), and construction (+26.1%). This reflects substantial capital investment in port facilities and consequent growth in cargo handling at the Georgia Ports Authority terminals, growth in business-to-business opportunities, and continued real estate development to accommodate population and commercial growth, respectively. Five sectors hold similar proportions of total employment in the Savannah MSA, further attesting to the area's healthy, diverse industry mix: professional and business services (14.1%), education and health services (13.5%), leisure and hospitality (13.5%), government (11.8%), and retail trade (11.6%). Manufacturing accounts for 9.4% of the area's jobs.

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