Savannah Chamber

23 9 Economic Development Georgia economic development prowess will be a driver of growth in 2023. Despite COVID-19, Georgia's economic developers landed more economic development projects in fiscal year 2021 than in fiscal year 2020 and more in fiscal year 2020 than in fiscal year 2019. Those are truly amazing accomplishments. In fiscal year 2022, Georgia posted another record year in economic development. The fiscal year 2022 totals for economic development were 358 projects, 51,132 jobs, and $21.2 billion in investments. Foreign direct investment was very strong. Georgia ranks seventh among the states in total foreign direct investment project dollars, putting Georgia behind only Florida in the Southeast. Georgia's economic development aptitude reflects many factors that make Georgia a great place in which to do business. Georgia fields an extremely competitive team of economic development professionals who produced outstanding results under the most challenging economic circumstances in modern economic times. Georgia's economic development strategy is very effective, which is the result of a deliberate efforts to adopt or invent best practices. For decades, Georgia's leaders have put priority on funding economic development and have passed economic development legislation that made Georgia more competitive. Georgia is viewed as a place where there is a good working relationship between state and local governments and other major players. Government is responsive to the needs of businesses, ranking very high in terms of its regulatory environment and speed of permitting. Atlanta's deep and broad pool of skilled and unskilled labor attracts businesses. Georgia also ranks high with respect to its customized workforce development efforts – Quick Start. In addition, Georgia established 17 HOPE Career Grant areas of study to better align college students' fields of study with companies' workforce needs. Those factors plus Georgia's major transportation and logistical advantages and a competitive tax climate help to refill Georgia's economic development pipeline. The build out of specialized job training centers – BioScience Training Center and Georgia Cyber Center – is a very effective way to attract and retain businesses that require workers with highly specialized skills. Similarly, the creation of an Aviation Academy in Paulding County will support the aerospace industry's growth. For these and other reasons, in 2021, site consultants ranked Georgia the top state in which to do business for the eighth straight year. The bottom line is that Georgia outcompetes other states for new projects and expansions. As national, state, and regional economies slow, Georgia will find that it is more difficult to capitalize on its many advantages. That is because the number of expansion and relocation projects that US states are competing for will decrease, reducing Georgia's prospects for new landing economic development projects that expand the economic base. Ge orgia's overall share of the smaller number of projects that states are vying for is likely to increase, however. Economic development therefore will continue to provide a relatively larger push to Georgia's economy than to the national economy. Because it often takes many years to build out the typical economic development project, many projects announced over the last several years will provide a substantial push to Georgia's economic growth in 2023 and beyond. Large economic development projects announced in 2022 include: (1) Hyundai Motor Group announced that it will build its first fully dedicated electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility in Bryan County, creating about 8,100 new jobs. This new electric vehicle plant is slated to open in 2025. (2) Jack's Links, a meat snack producer, will create 800 jobs at a new manufacturing facility in Perry. The new plant is slated to open in late 2023. (3) Qcells announced that it will build a new solar module manufacturing facility in Dalton, creating 470 jobs. (4) Saint-Gobain ADFORS North America, a construction materials manufacturer, will expand its operations in Dublin, creating 400 jobs over the next two years. (5) Proctor & Gamble will build a new distribution facility in Jackson, creating 350 new jobs. Another reason Georgia will do well is that the US automobile manufacturing industry is becoming increasingly concentrated in the Southeast. When it comes to both distribution and consumer

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