Fri, March 29, 2024

Economics

B2B Stories

New video debuts vision of downtown business incubator

A new video by Dickinson Architect offers a step-by-step tour of the Augusta Technical College’s incubator project planned for Broad Street. Posted on LinkedIn, it features Nick Dickinson and Augusta Tech President, Dr. Jermaine Whirl outlining the process and what the end result will be. The microenterprise center is being built in the former Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce building at 600 Broad Street. In the video. Dickinson and Whirl begin on the first floor, which they said will be called “The Den.” Click here to watch the video produced

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Business earnings take a hit post-Covid

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents that Black and Hispanic persons are up to twice as likely to need hospitalization when contracting Covid-19 than white persons. The likelihood of death is over 1.5 times as high as white persons. Recent research by Robert Fairlee of the University of California Los Angeles has identified racial and ethnic disparities in business earnings. Pandemic-induced losses to businesses in 2020 were 16-19 percent for all business owners. However, Black business owners suffered a larger negative impact of 12-14 percent compared to

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B2B Stories

Augusta sees Black History Month tourism boost

Today may be the last day of the month of Black History Month and a special Electric Vehicle promotion—but Destination Augusta CEO and President, Bennish Brown thinks the AAA travel troupe saved the best for last! At a news conference at the Augusta Tourism Center’s headquarters, Brown, representatives from the Augusta mayor’s office and the Lucy Craft Laney Museum shared with the AAA how important this unique program is. “AAA is a brand that shouts reliability and they know how to partner with businesses to save money on goods and

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: LEI takes a hit…again!

The Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) fell 1.1 percent in December 2023 from November 2023. It is 2.5 percent lower than December 2022. The index has fallen 12 percentage points from its all-time peak in June 2022, with data going back to 2007 (see chart below). The major components that caused the monthly decline were residential permits and initial claims for unemployment insurance. Housing permits fell 21 percent in December from November and were 813 lower in 2023 than in 2022. Initial claims for unemployment insurance claims rose 27 percent

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B2B Stories

Universities fueling the workforce pipeline for tourism and hospitality jobs

Travel, tourism, and hospitality are rebounding following a slump during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Augusta University and UGA are helping bump the numbers by offering training programs for those industries. A recent report from the University of Georgia (UGA), listed hospitality and tourism as the second largest contributor to the state’s economy. In 2022, there were nearly 168 million visitors generating $39.8 billion in direct visitor spending. That translates to $4.7 billion in state and local tax revenues. In Athens, the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel

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B2B Stories

Another hurdle cleared and one step closer to JBA reality

The second step required to collect funds for the new James Brown Arena construction has been completed. Augusta Commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Augusta Richmond County Coliseum Authority. The agreement sets in motion the financial process of collecting and dispersing the money from the half-penny Construction Special Project, Local Option Sales Tax (C-SPLOST). It also clears the way to begin collecting money through the $250 million bond issue approved by voters last November. The process began in late January when members of the Authority approved the intergovernmental

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: SC’s LMI shines!

Last week, I reported data on Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) labor markets in Georgia. However, the Augusta MSA includes two counties (Aiken and Edgefield) in South Carolina, so how does Augusta compare to South Carolina MSA’s over the last year? Overall, South Carolina’s MSAs all performed better than Augusta, and South Carolina did better than Georgia. The South Carolina Labor Market Index (LMI) increased by 2.7% compared to 1.1% in Georgia. The fastest growing MSA in South Carolina was Charleston at 4.1% and the slowest was Spartanburg at 1.7%, still

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B2B Stories

ABD Correction of Goodwill Expansion on 15th/Walton Way

Letter to the Editor: The following was written by James K. Stiff, President, Goodwill of Middle Georgia & the CSRA, Helms College. Thank you for the recent coverage in the Augusta Business Daily on the revitalization of vacant buildings in Augusta, notably the transformation of a former drugstore into a new Goodwill retail training store on Walton Way. We appreciate your attention to the economic developments in our community and are thankful for the great quote from Mayor Johnson regarding the new human and economic energy Goodwill brings to the CSRA.

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B2B Stories

Education generates big bucks in Georgia

Latest figures released by the University of Georgia show the multi-billion dollar impact it has on the Peach State. A news release from the university said UGA’s economic impact in 2023 jumped to a record $8.1 billion. The figures released a year ago showed the university’s impact was $7.6 billion. The study measures the value of the school’s teaching, research, and public service. Among the reasons for the growth, the university cited an increase in students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, public service and outreach programs, and robust research

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Augusta LMI in the middle of the pack

The fastest-growing Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) labor market in Georgia for 2023 was Dalton, followed by Columbus and Rome. Dalton’s Labor Market Index (LMI) which includes employment, unemployment, labor force, hours worked, and average weekly earnings, increased by 2.9% in 2023. Columbus LMI grew by 2.6% and Rome by 2.3%. Augusta grew at 1.1% as did the state of Georgia as a whole. Perhaps surprisingly, some MSAs that have racked up strong growth in the last few years were less robust in 2023. Atlanta’s LMI grew by just 0.8%, Gainesville

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