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Economics
B2B Stories

Key Airport leader gets $11,000 raise; part of 2024 preps

Commissioners voted to stay the course for airport leadership into 2024. They approved a 5% pay raise for Judon, who currently earns just under $220,000 a year. It will begin in January, which is the start of his new contract. Members of the Augusta Aviation Commission held their final meeting of 2023 on Tuesday and laid the groundwork for the coming year. Commissioner, Randy Sasser had been tasked with surveying the board for recommendations to serve as chairman and vice chairman in 2024. The recommendation to have current Chairman, Dan

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Dana Lynn McIntyre December 19, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Good employment and wage news for a few CSRA counties

Augusta Business Daily’s Dana Lynn McIntyre asked a question relating to county-level data at my Economic Forecast Breakfast on December 7th. I mentioned that county-level data is often released with a long lag. It just so happened that later that day, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released their county employment and wages data for the second quarter of 2023 – better six months late than never! Here is what it said. Two counties saw declines in employment since the second quarter of 2022. Burke County employment fell by 20 percent

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dr-simon-medcalfe December 18, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

New crop of nurses hitting the job market

A new cohort of 50 nurses and patient care technicians is ready to be snapped up by a healthcare industry hungry for staff. Aiken Technical College (ATC) held the traditional pinning ceremony on Dec. 11 for the most recent graduates of their healthcare programs. Dr. Hannah Williams, Dean of the School of Nursing, said current and growing job openings make for an extremely bright future for graduates. “We know in healthcare, there are so many deficits, that we’re short nurses, we’re short patient care techs, often, our students have a

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Dana Lynn McIntyre December 17, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

The year 2024: Looking into my crystal ball

Last week, Augusta University’s Hull College of Business held its annual Economic Forecast Breakfast, and my inimitable colleague, Dr. Simon Medcalfe, gave his uniquely informative and amusing take on what the local economy may have in store for us in the coming year. Dr. Medcalfe has inspired me to break out my crystal ball to provide you with my predictions on a number of business-related topics for the coming year. Every time I do a column like this one, I recommend that you print it out and save it, so

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Dr. Rick Franza December 12, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: There’s an economic benefit to wildlife management

My son graduates from the University of Georgia (UGA) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Sciences on Friday. He has done some pretty cool stuff in his degree including collaring lions in Namibia and rocket-netting ducks in Louisiana. Next year, he starts work at the Savannah River Ecology Lab on the Savannah River Site. Wildlife management can be viewed from an economic perspective. For example, there are benefits and costs associated with game animals. Hunters enjoy the outdoors and the meat it provides. Studies of the benefit of hunting deer

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dr-simon-medcalfe December 11, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Fresh start for a familiar building in Augusta

A 20th-century building that was a hub of activity in Augusta is being re-purposed for 21st-century use. The former headquarters for the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce will become an incubator for new businesses and an accelerator for exciting businesses. A partnership between Augusta Technical College (ATC) and Augusta’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) will turn the building at 600 Broad Street into a microenterprise center. It will be called Accelerate Augusta. ATC President, Dr. Jermaine Whirl said the main room can be used for business owners to pitch their businesses,

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Dana Lynn McIntyre December 10, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Peering into the economic outlook crystal ball

Augusta University (AU) continued a longtime tradition of putting a spotlight on the area economy over the past year and predictions for the coming year. Dr. Simon Medcalfe led the university’s annual Economic Forecast breakfast on Thursday. Medcalfe, a professor of economics at AU and contributor for the Augusta Business Daily, began with an overview of changes in types of business, percentage of employment, and population growth. Between 2004 and 2023, Medcalfe said the mixture of industries, including hospitality, healthcare, education, and manufacturing, while looking different on the surface, remain

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Dana Lynn McIntyre and Neil Gordon December 7, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Multimillion-dollar CSRA business gets help from local college and foundation

The inventory value of horses and their equipment in Aiken County is $68 million. The horse business includes stabling, saddles and bridles, feed, workout rings, riding apparel, and farrier fees, not to mention the visitors who spend money attending polo and steeplechase events. This fall, Aiken Technical College partnered with the Aiken Horse Park Foundation to create a new equine technician course through the College’s Office of Continuing Education. The inaugural cohort of students were recognized during a completion ceremony yesterday at Great Oaks Equine Assisted Programs location, 1123 Edgefield Highway

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mitzi-oxford December 6, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Georgians could see a drop in personal income taxes

Gov. Brian Kemp has announced a goal to speed up the reduction in personal income taxes that was approved last year. The process will mean amending HB 1437 during the 2024 session of the General Assembly that begins in January. It provided for stepping down the income tax rate by ten basis points incrementally, beginning in 2025 and continuing by 0.1% annually until the rate, currently 5.75% on incomes over $7,000 a year, reaches 4.99%. “When I signed the largest income tax cut in state history in 2022, I did

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dana-lynn-mcintyre December 5, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Forecasting the economic future of the CSRA

While it may seem that the economic picture for Augusta is about as clear as the muddy banks of the Savannah River, there are a few signs of hope for 2024. One of the sure bets is learning the ups and downs of the Labor Market Index (LMI), Leading Economic Index (LEI), measuring the value of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), among many other contributing factors, and how those will impact your business in 2024. Dr. Simon Medcalfe is a Professor of Economics and Finance at the James M. Hull College of Business at

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mitzi-oxford December 5, 2023 No Comments
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