Fri, March 29, 2024

Simon Says: First quarter labor stats look good for Georgia, up slightly in Augusta

Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor

Data through the first quarter of 2022 suggests that the Georgia economy remains strong. The Labor Market Index (LMI) for Georgia increased by 2.4 percent in March 2022 from March 2021. The corresponding number for the fourth quarter of 2021 was 2.2 percent.

Savannah saw the largest year-on-year increase at 3.6 percent. All metro areas, except Hinesville, saw improved labor market conditions in the first quarter of 2022.

The LMI for Augusta increased by 0.8 percent. Employment has increased by 2,300 over the last year and the unemployment rate has dropped 0.9 percentage points to 3.5 percent.

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Average weekly earnings increased $26 or 2.9 percent. Hours worked per week increased by 12 minutes. The only economic variable that worsened was the labor force, which fell by 407 people.

Over the last year, employment in Savannah has increased by 13,300 jobs and unemployment has dropped by 1.5 percentage points to 3.1 percent. Average weekly earnings have increased by $109 or 15 percent. The labor force, perhaps encouraged by the large wage increases, has increased by 5,700 people. However, the number of hours worked on average per week has fallen by 45 minutes.

Next week, I will compare the Augusta LMI to Metropolitan Statistical Areas in South Carolina.

Note: The LMI was created by Simon Medcalfe based on the methodology of the Conference Board’s economic indexes. The Conference Board states “composite economic indexes are the key elements in an analytic system designed to signal peaks and troughs in the business cycle. The indexes are constructed to summarize and reveal common turning points in the economy more clearly and convincingly than any individual component.”

The individual components in the LMI are employment, unemployment rate, labor force, average weekly earnings, and average weekly hours.

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