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21 15 addition, new single-family home construction will be on the upswing, which will lead to the expansion of property tax bases. Economic Development Georgia economic development prowess will be a powerful driver of economic growth. In 2023, 2022, and 2021, Georgia's economic developers shattered annual economic development records. In 2024, the number of projects increased slightly, but investment dollars decreased to $20 billion from $23 billion in 2023. Due to the US and global economic slowdowns, we expect economic development activity to slow in 2025, but Georgia will win a larger share of the economic development projects in contention. 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. Georgia ranks high with respect to its customized workforce development efforts. For example, Quick Start, is offered by Georgia's Technical College System and has been ranked by economic developers as the nation's best workforce development programs for fourteen consecutive years. In addition, Georgia established 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 highly 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 2024, site consultants ranked Georgia the top state in which to do business for the tenth straight year. The bottom line is that Georgia outcompetes other states for new projects and expansions. As noted above, national, state, and regional economies will continue to slow and that will make it more difficult for Georgia 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. Georgia'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 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 2025. Large economic development projects announced in 2024 include: (1) PrizePicks, a fantasy sports company, announced that it will locate its corporate headquarters in Atlanta, creating 1,000 new jobs over the next seven years. (2) SOLARCYCLE will create over 600 jobs at a solar glass manufacturing facility in Cedartown. (3) First Quality Baby Products will expand its manufacturing base in Macon, creating 600 new jobs. (4) Gerresheimer will expand its medical manufacturing operations in Peachtree City, creating over 400 jobs. (5) Cargill, a global food and agriculture business, will establish a massive office operation in Atlanta, creating over 400 jobs. Large economic development projects announced in 2023 include: The decision by Qcells to build two new solar module manufacturing facilities in Georgia that will create more than 2,500 jobs in northwest Georgia. Life Sciences manufacturer Meissner's announcement that it will build a new facility in Athens that will create more than 1,700 jobs over the next eight years. ADMARES, a manufacturer of buildings, decision to build its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Waycross which will create over 1,400 jobs. The largest economic development projects announced in 2022 was Hyundai Motor Group decision to 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. Due to cost, logistics, and tax advantages, Georgia is extremely competitive with other states when it comes to landing economic development projects. Many companies move to Georgia to cut costs. These advantages bore fruit in 2012-24. That is partially because Georgia made several strategic shifts in its economic development strategy, including a greater emphasis on workforce training as an economic