Happy New Year! Our first regional snapshot for 2020 provides an overview of some of the most relevant trends in our metro economy. Topics include trends in gross domestic product for peer metros, job growth by sector, changes in wage levels, trends in residential permitting, and current forecasts. The material in this slide deck “sets the stage” for forthcoming snapshots that will further explore topics like demand for jobs, industry change, housing markets, and consumer costs.
The key findings for now are as follows:
- Metro Atlanta’s gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by 28 percent since 2010, compared to 19% growth across all US metros. From 2017-2018, though, Atlanta GDP grew by 2.5% compared to a metro US rate of 3%, and Atlanta’s relative ranking (among metros) dropped.
- Metro Atlanta continues to be a national leader in job growth, though Atlanta’s growth rate has slowed since late 2017, hovering just above the national average. At the sector level, the strongest year-over-year employment growth has been found in lower- wage sectors, including construction and leisure & hospitality.
- Wages are now (finally) seeing positive growth, but wage increases are still not only sluggish and intermittent, but uneven across wage groupings.
- Home prices remain above pre-recession peak, though still well below the 20 (largest) city composite
- ARC’s short-term forecast (through to 2030) calls for moderate but steady increases in Metro Atlanta’s GDP and average wage per worker
The slide deck below offers evidence (in charts and tables) to support the key findings. Click through the slides below or download the PDF Regional Snapshot: 2019 Economic Overview.