In a stunning victory last Tuesday night, Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon trounced Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-1. Now, the hard work begins as Amorim tries to rejuvenate a moribund Manchester United.
In other news, the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Labor Market Index (LMI) increased by 0.3 percent in September from August. It is 1.0 percent higher than September 2023. As I reported last week, employment and nominal average weekly earnings hit record levels in September. Additionally, the labor force expanded, and the average hours worked increased. The only component of the LMI that moved adversely was unemployment which increased to 4.5 percent.
Over the third quarter of 2024, the Augusta LMI rose 0.6 percent making it the sixth fastest-growing MSA in Georgia (see graph below). The fastest-growing MSA was Brunswick, just ahead of Macon. The state LMI rose just 0.2 percent in the third quarter, dragged down by sluggish growth in Atlanta. Gainesville and Savannah saw their LMI decline.
Brunswick also saw record employment and average weekly earnings in September and its unemployment rate was 3.4 percent. Macon also saw record employment and earnings.
Savannah also saw record employment, but average weekly earnings fell by $27 over the third quarter. Average hours worked was just 30.4 hours in the third quarter, maybe representing the large tourism sector which is often part-time and seasonal.
Atlanta and Gainesville saw employment fall in September, as well as hours worked. Georgia as a whole saw record employment with almost five million people employed.
