Employment

September saw another record month for employment in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Employment in September increased by 900 to 248,400. Augusta has seen records broken every month since June. Education and Health Services also saw record employment in September. Employment in September increased by 350 to over 40,000 for the first time. Other sectors that saw employment increase in September were leisure and hospitality (+190), professional and business services (+180), Transportation and utilities (+80), and retail (+40). Wholesale and manufacturing employment fell. Another record fell in September, average

Employment in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) continued to grow for the fourth consecutive month. In August, employment was 247,800, up 700 from July. 3,300 net new jobs have been created in the last year. Over two-thirds of the net new jobs were created in the education and health services sector, reflecting national trends. Private education and health services jobs have grown by 3.8 percent over the last 12 months. Government employment represented almost a quarter of the net new jobs in the Augusta MSA over the last year.

The Augusta Leading Economic Index fell 0.5 percent in July from June. It remains 0.1 percent higher than July 2023. After a bumper June, residential housing permits returned to normal levels, but represented a 66 percent monthly decline. Initial claims for unemployment insurance increased by 40 percent, as they often do in the summer with new high school and college graduates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished July strongly and inflation declined to 2.3 percent in the south. The price level actually fell from June to July, but was 2.3