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Last week, I reported occupancy rates and revenue per available room for the hotel industry in Richmond County. Averages, however, do not provide information on the complete distribution. Upper-tier hotels had a better year than the average. Occupancy rates were up 0.7% (the average was a decrease of 8.8%), and revenue per available room was also up 0.7% (the average was down 4.5%). Total revenue for upper-tier hotels was 7.7% higher compared to a 4% decline on average. Upper-tier hotels represent 23 percent of all hotels in Richmond County, and

Garnett Johnson serves as the City of Augusta’s 85th Mayor, but he understands the city’s success is largely dependent on the success of its surrounding counties. Johnson, who also owns Augusta Office Solutions, will be one of the speakers at the Columbia County Republican Party’s February Breakfast Meeting on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. at Mi Rancho Mexican Restaurant located at 4010 Gateway Blvd., #1 in Grovetown. The other speaker at the event will be Columbia County Commission Chairman and Vice President of Recruiting & Staffing for MAU Workforce Solutions,

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released the employment data for the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area for December 2022. Overall, employment increased from 239,600 in December 2021 to 244,800, a gain of 2.2 percent (see graph below). Two major industry groups saw a decline in employment over the year, education and health services and leisure and hospitality. Education and health services employment was 1.9 percent lower in December 2022 than in December 2021, or 673 jobs. Leisure and hospitality jobs were 1.5% lower in December 2022 than a year earlier.