Economics

ABD Extra

Simon Says: Staffing Strategies

The labor shortage continues to be a concern for many businesses. The Augusta metro area employment level is still 4,000 persons below pre-pandemic levels and the labor force is almost 8,000 people fewer. A new survey of businesses conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates how firms are trying to attract more applicants. The most popular strategies were increased advertising and higher starting pay. Nationwide, 5.4% of establishments have increased advertising, with 11.8% of accommodation and food services and 9.7% of health care and social assistance increasing advertising. The

Read More »
ABD Extra

More seats, more events, more tourism for CSRA

A $150,000 grant has opened the door for changes to seating capacity at the Sharon Jones Amphitheater in North Augusta. The grant is through the Undiscovered South Carolina program in the state’s Parks, Recreation, and Tourism department. Karl Waldhaur, superintendent of Facilities and Programs in the North Augusta Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department briefed council members during the April 10 study session. “The purpose is to highlight places in South Carolina that have less than $900,000 of accommodations tax revenue,” Waldhaur explained. “So, the purpose is to kind of highlight

Read More »
ABD Extra

Economic Update: Livin’ the Life in Business

It’s all in the family! Coach Dave Holdeman from The Alternative Board of the CSRA and Augusta Business Daily publisher, Neil Gordon congratulate family-owned MAU on 50 years in business. Holdeman and Gordon also discuss a project aiming to bring more tourism to the area and ways companies can measure engagement among their employees to create an ideal workplace culture. Get the latest on this and more in the economic update for this week!

Read More »
B2B Stories

More seats, more events, more tourism for CSRA

A $150,000 grant has opened the door for changes to seating capacity at the Sharon Jones Amphitheater in North Augusta. The grant is through the Undiscovered South Carolina program in the state’s Parks, Recreation, and Tourism department. Karl Waldhaur, superintendent of Facilities and Programs in the North Augusta Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department briefed council members during the April 10 study session. “The purpose is to highlight places in South Carolina that have less than $900,000 of accommodations tax revenue,” Waldhaur explained. “So, the purpose is to kind of highlight

Read More »
ABD Extra

Business leaders receive the royal red carpet treatment

Green jackets and red carpets are part of the 61st tour of Georgia as business leaders from around the world descend upon the Peach State. The Augusta Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, welcomes business leaders to spend four days learning what the Peach State has to offer.  The tour began yesterday in Atlanta with a reception at the Governor’s Mansion, hosted by Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp. “I talked last night about a great team we have here,” Kemp said. “It’s

Read More »
ABD Extra

Simon Says: Georgia’s tricks of the trade on trading

The Georgia Department of Economic Development and Governor Brian Kemp recently announced that the State of Georgia achieved a record-breaking year for international trade for the second year in a row. Georgia’s total trade with the rest of the world totaled $196 billion in 2022. The press release emphasized the record-breaking $47 billion of exports, an increase of 11% on 2021. Canada, Mexico, and China represent Georgia’s three largest export markets. What was not mentioned is that imports must have made up the other $149 billion. In fact, imports grew

Read More »
B2B Stories

Business leaders receive the royal red carpet treatment

Green jackets and red carpets are part of the 61st tour of Georgia as business leaders from around the world descend upon the Peach State. The Augusta Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, welcomes business leaders to spend four days learning what the Peach State has to offer.  The tour began yesterday in Atlanta with a reception at the Governor’s Mansion, hosted by Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp. “I talked last night about a great team we have here,” Kemp said. “It’s

Read More »
B2B Stories

CSRA businesses in full swing for Masters week

When Jessica Gaskins was growing up, her dad would take her and her siblings to Augusta Regional Airport during Masters week to sit and watch who got off the planes. He assured his children that somebody important would be there. That was when she first met Nick Faldo. “While I didn’t appreciate the experience as much then, now Masters week is the best time of the year to me,” explained Gaskins, owner of Maddie P Boutique. The early exposure to the tournament has paid off for Gaskins. Her boutique, located

Read More »
ABD Extra

Economic Update: Augusta’s ready down to a “tee!”

Join Coach Dave Holdeman from The Alternative Board of the CSRA and Augusta Business Daily publisher, Neil Gordon at the 19th hole, just in time for Masters Week! They discuss the first-ever ‘shopping crawl’ in town hosted by Soul City. Small businesses in Augusta are joining together to invite customers to shop with their golf carts for this unique experience. Get the scoop on all that and more in this week’s economic update.

Read More »
ABD Extra

Simon Says: Losses, Gains, and the Game of Golf

Many people are susceptible to loss aversion and golfers are no exception. Loss aversion means that individuals feel the pain of loss more than twice, as much as the benefit of the equivalent gain. In golf, this means the golfer psychologically suffers more from a bogey on a hole than the joy of a birdie. In other walks of life, people hold on to loss-making stocks longer than they should because they fear the emotional consequences of selling at a loss. Soccer teams play for the draw rather than the

Read More »