B2B Stories

The Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased 0.3 percent in March from February. It is 1.6 percent higher than March 2023. The two components that contributed positively to the gain were residential building permits (up 8.8 percent) and initial claims for unemployment insurance (down 28 percent). Residential building permits have generally been on an upward trend since the financial crisis of 2008 and reflect a growing population from 535,000 in 2008 to 629,000 in 2023. Although initial claims for unemployment insurance fell, job openings also fell for the sixth consecutive

Over the last couple of weeks, I have reported that Augusta employment has surpassed pre-COVID levels, but the overall labor market is still suffering from long COVID. What about other areas of the state of Georgia? Employment in Georgia stands over a quarter of a million jobs higher in March 2024 than it did in February 2020. Three metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) generated over three-quarters of the job growth, Atlanta, Savannah, and Gainesville. Atlanta itself accounted for two-thirds of the job growth indicating the role the capital city pays in