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37 10 Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce 2025 Economic Trends Employment (By Place of Work) (Payroll Employment) The Savannah MSA workforce increased 1.6% to 207,300 workers from 2023 to 2024. Notable increases occurred in Construction (+600 jobs, +6%), Finance (+400 jobs, +5.5%), Education and Health Services (+1,000 jobs, +3.5%), and Manufacturing (+600 jobs, +2.7%). Two sectors shed jobs: Business and Professional Services (-400 jobs, -1.6%) and Retail Trade (-100 jobs, -1.3%). Public sector employment added 1,100 jobs, with 1,000 new state and local government employees and 100 new federal government employees. Employment – Annual Averages Savannah MSA Industry 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Change 2018-24 Change 2023-24 Total Nonfarm 185,800 189,900 180,400 190,900 200,200 204,000 207,300 11.6% 1.6% Construction, Mining, & Logging 8,400 8,200 8,200 8,200 9,000 10,000 10,600 26.2% 6.0% Manufacturing 18,200 18,700 17,500 18,000 19,500 21,900 22,500 23.6% 2.7% Wholesale Trade 6,500 6,500 6,400 6,700 7,200 7,800 7,900 21.5% 1.3% Retail Trade 22,200 22,100 21,400 22,400 23,000 23,400 23,300 5.0% -0.4% Transportation & Utilities 14,000 14,800 15,700 18,400 18,800 18,800 18,900 35.0% 0.5% Information 1,900 2,800 1,800 2,400 1,800 1,400 1,400 -26.3% 0.0% Financial Activities 6,200 6,400 6,100 6,500 6,800 7,300 7,700 24.2% 5.5% Professional & Business Services 23,400 24,200 23,800 26,500 27,800 25,000 24,600 5.1% -1.6% Education & Health Services 26,500 26,600 25,600 25,800 27,300 28,300 29,300 10.6% 3.5% Leisure & Hospitality 26,600 27,100 22,500 24,800 27,000 27,500 27,600 3.8% 0.4% Other Services 7,300 7,600 7,000 7,400 8,000 8,300 8,300 13.7% 0.0% Government-Federal 2,900 2,900 3,000 2,900 2,800 2,900 3,000 3.4% 3.4% Government-State & Local 21,700 21,800 21,300 20,900 20,900 21,200 22,200 2.3% 4.7% Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, State and Area Employment, Hours and Earnings (2024 data are annualized based on October data.) Retrieved at www.bls.gov on 12/12/2024. BLS data are benchmarked and revised annually; data for 2022-23 have been updated to reflect these changes. Recent Job Growth The lion's share of job growth following the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and the pandemic recession occurred in the private sector of the Savannah MSA. Sectors experiencing extraordinary growth since 2018 include the Logistics industry (+35%), Construction (+26.2%), Finance (+24.2%), and Manufacturing (+23.6%). This reflects substantial capital investment in port facilities and consequent growth in cargo handling at the Georgia Ports Authority terminals, notable growth in the region's transportation equipment manufacturing base (aircraft and automobiles) in the past two years and continued real estate development to accommodate population and commercial growth. Five sectors hold similar proportions of total employment in the Savannah MSA, further attesting to the area's healthy, diverse industry mix: Education and Health Services (14.1%), Leisure and Hospitality (13.3%), Professional and Business Services (11.9%), Retail Trade (11.2%), and Government (10.7%). Manufacturing's growing share of regional employment increased to 10.9% from 9.8% in 2023, with continued increase in share expected as the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America facility in Bryan County and its associated supplier manufacturers further ramp up operations in 2025. Employment data reported above is commonly referred to as "Payroll Employment" (by Place of Work) because it is obtained through a surveying process of employers as compared to the Labor Force Employment (by Place of Residence) data reported on the previous page which is gathered from a survey of households. Further, the "Covered Employment" data reported on the following page is a headcount of employment by place of work drawn from data submitted by employers for the state's unemployment insurance program, and thus, referred to as "covered" employment.