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Economics
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Hospitality business is gaining but not so good for other job openings

The labor market nationally seems to be softening. On July 6th, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the number of job openings decreased to 9.8 million on the last day of May. Job openings have been declining since May 2022 (see graph below). The next day, the BLS announced that payroll employment increased by 209,000 in June, however, this is a slowdown on previous months. Locally, after four months of declining payroll employment, we have seen employment increase over the last two months. Employment has increased from 241,600

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe July 17, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: The best places to live

U.S. News and World Report recently announced the best places to live for 2023-2024. According to their list, Green Bay, Wis. is the best, followed by Huntsville Ala., and Raleigh & Durham, N.C. Augusta, GA. made the list at #74. Other Georgia places included Savannah at #37 and Atlanta (#64). In South Carolina, Myrtle Beach (#18), Greenville (#31), Spartanburg (#43), Charleston, (#53), and Columbia (#92) made the top 100. Two colleagues and I have just published a paper measuring whether these kinds of rankings matter to people when deciding where

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe July 12, 2023 No Comments
B2B Podcasting

Panel discussion: Real Estate power with Nancy Powell

Join us as we take a look back at the real estate panel discussion from ABD’s Conference and Expo in May. Nancy Powell, CEO and Broker of Powell & Associates, Inc., provides some numbers about the housing market in today’s day and age. She says that because people won’t see extremely low-interest rates in this economy, it will take innovation and new ideas to address the housing shortage.

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Neil Gordon with Nancy Powell July 6, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Derek May: What changes have businesses made since the pandemic?

We’ve come a long way since 2020 and Augusta’s doing well. We’re taking a look back at the economic panel discussion from ABD’s Conference and Expo in May, in which Derek May, President of Azalea Investments, speaks about key economic indicators that show how the business world has pulled through.

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Derek May June 29, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Expert presents optimistic news regarding economic outlook

When experts speak about the economic outlook, the news is often grim. But according to one economist, there are many reasons to be optimistic about future growth in the U.S. economy. While many predicted a recession in 2023, Dr. David Altig, Executive Vice President and Director of Research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said there’s currently little evidence to support that prediction. Yesterday, Altig served as the keynote speaker for Augusta Technical College’s third annual Mid-Year Economic Outlook. “The U.S. economy is much stronger than we predicted, and

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Josh Heath June 28, 2023 No Comments
ABD Extra

Simon Says: Where do the numbers stand on income inequality?

Income inequality in the U.S. has been rising since 1980. However, the latest data for 2020 show a steep decline as shown in the chart below. The Gini index for the U.S. fell from 41.5 in 2019 to 39.7 in 2020. A value of 0 implies perfect equality and 100 implies perfect inequality. The decline probably represents the Covid checks and other support sent out by the federal government in 2020. Locally, county Gini estimates for 2021 show higher inequality. Columbia County had a Gini index of 41.9 and Richmond

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe June 26, 2023 No Comments
ABD Extra

Economic Update: Are you hungry?

We’ve got stories that will work up an appetite! Coach Dave Holdeman from The Alternative Board of the CSRA and Augusta Business Daily publisher, Neil Gordon talk about local entrepreneurs treading a path in the food business. Get to know the details on all that and more in this week’s economic update.

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Neil Gordon with Dave Holdeman June 26, 2023 No Comments
B2B Podcasting

Davis Beman: What changes have businesses experienced since the pandemic?

As we know, the world has changed since the start of the decade. We take a look back at the economic panel discussion from ABD’s Conference and Expo in May as Davis Beman, principal of Beman Real Estate Company, responds to a question about how businesses should pivot and remain true to core values following the pandemic.

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Davis Beman June 22, 2023 No Comments
ABD Extra

Davis Beman: How do businesses cope with inflation?

Focus on what you do best! We take a look back at the economic panel discussion from ABD’s Conference and Expo in May. Davis Beman, principal of Beman Real Estate Company, speaks about the importance of maintaining great relationships and confidence as businesses face high interest rates.

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Davis Beman June 21, 2023 No Comments
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