As I reported last week, the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area had a strong jobs report for November with employment increasing by 1,300 jobs. Heading into the holiday season, it was no surprise to see that half the jobs were in the leisure and hospitality industry.
Retail establishments also increased employment by 100 to a record high of 30,360. That equates to an additional 3,600 jobs from pre-pandemic levels. Professional and business services increased employment by 600 jobs, to a total of 34,250 in that sector. That is a post-pandemic peak, but below the record high of 35,200 in January 2018. Other sectors that saw increased levels of employment were government (up 350 jobs) and manufacturing (100 jobs).
Three industries saw small declines in employment numbers in November. Financial activities shed 100 jobs, construction 25, and transportation and utilities 60 jobs.
The biggest concern I see in the data is a decline in employment in the education and health services sector by 350. This sector is still 1,400 jobs below the pre-pandemic peak. The graph below shows regional and national comparisons for this sector (data has been adjusted to an index number for easy comparison). Since the beginning of the pandemic recession, employment in health and educational services nationally has increased by 1.2 percent and 3.1 percent in Georgia. Atlanta has seen employment increase by over 5.7 percent. Augusta, on the other hand, has employment in health and educational services 4 percent below pre-pandemic levels.
Unfortunately, I had several family friends in the hospital over the holidays. Visits and their stories collaborated with the difficulty in getting workers into healthcare. Other areas of the country have been able to increase employment, it would be worth knowing what they are doing and what we are not.
