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Economics
B2B Stories

Uncertain economy creates a nightmare for a local trucking company

The past couple of years has been a nightmare for trucking companies, especially the smaller outfits like Jax Transportation in Aiken. “Our business dropped off 87 percent when covid shut down everything, owner Dean Cavero said. “It was a fiasco when goods weren’t moving. It took six months for us to see any relief.” He also owns Phoenix One Logistics which oversees the heavy haul logistics for Jax. But there wasn’t much hauling going on at that time. Now that the trucks are rolling again comes a new set of

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Mitzi Oxford June 10, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Wage increases alone may not be enough to entice employees

The labor force in Augusta is below 267,000 (March 2022) compared to almost 271,000 pre-pandemic. Traditional thinking and economics suggest that employers should raise wages and that will increase the workers’ opportunity cost of staying at home and at least some workers will be enticed back into the labor force. Unfortunately, as I mentioned last week, average weekly earnings in Augusta have not kept up with increases at the state and national levels, and even declined in 2021. Nationally, earnings have increased by 5 percent in the same period. But

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor June 8, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Banking leaders warn of an economic ‘hurricane’ on the horizon

Several leaders of major banks recently warned about a looming financial crisis that could plunge the United States into a major recession. This reflects the same sentiment of a gloomy economic forecast as Hull College of Business economist, Simon Medcalfe made in his ABD column on Wednesday (see his local report here). “It’s a hurricane,” JP Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon said at a recent banking conference in describing his view of the economy. Like with a natural hurricane, where it is sunny and peaceful in the days ahead of

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Gary Kauffman June 6, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Fifth Street Bridge project expected to draw large crowds to downtown Augusta

Once the Fifth Street Bridge reopens later this month, it’s expected to attract more people to downtown Augusta, and Greg LaBelle looks forward to turning some of those people into customers. LaBelle co-owns Two Dudes and a Boat Kayak Rentals located near the bridge in the Fifth Street Marina. He and his business partner, Steven Cox, not only rent out kayaks but also offer guided kayak tours of the Savannah River for groups and corporations. “We are so fortunate that the pedestrian bridge will have a bird’s eye view of

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Josh Heath June 3, 2022 No Comments
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Simon says: Augusta economic forecast gloomy as jobs continue post-pandemic lag

Employment in the Augusta MSA has increased by 4,000 jobs in the last year, through April – the latest available data, but remains more than 6,000 jobs off the pre-pandemic peak (see chart below). As I have written about in recent articles (April 13, May 4), this makes Augusta one of the worst-performing economies in Georgia. The more bad news was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on May 18. Job openings in Georgia declined by 33,000 in March. Georgia was one of four states to see a decline,

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor June 1, 2022 No Comments
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Georgia businesses leader says worker shortage will continue for years

If you think the workforce shortage is a short-term problem, think again, says Chris Clark. Clark, President, and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce said the problem is expected to affect businesses worldwide for the next 10-12 years. He discussed the state of Georgia’s economy and possible strategies for improving it in a presentation called “The New Georgia Economy” on Thursday, May 26 at Augusta University. One of the topics he discussed was workforce development. Clark said there are currently 11 million job openings nationwide, 400,000 of which are

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Josh Heath May 31, 2022 No Comments
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Georgia small businesses go worldwide

    Georgia celebrates small businesses that trade internationally and Coca-Cola is discontinuing one of its drinks. – Augusta Business Daily by Mike Petchenik  

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Mike Petchenik May 31, 2022 No Comments
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Americans eating out less as inflation tightens

Inflation and record-high gas prices are beginning to affect one of Americans’ favorite pastimes – eating out. Research by Acosta, a marketing firm in Jacksonville, found that 54 percent of Americans report dining out less. When they do go out, they are more selective in where they go and what they order. About a third of those surveyed said they’re choosing less expensive restaurants or less expensive menu items when they dine away from home. This is a blow to the restaurant industry just beginning to recover from shutdowns during

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Gary Kauffman May 26, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Inflation slightly higher in South, more to come

The rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index fell in April to leave the headline national inflation rate at 8.3 percent, but the inflation rate for the South was higher than the national rate at 8.8 percent. The main reason why the rate of inflation fell was a decline in gasoline prices of 6.1 percent in April. However, gas prices have been rising again in May and so the inflation rate is likely to increase again. Of growing concern for inflation is food prices, especially wheat. The war in

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor May 25, 2022 No Comments
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