As Atlanta has continued to rebound from the great economic recession of 2008 as one of the hardest hit metro areas in the country. Economist analyst are expecting the metro Atlanta is poised for its strongest year of job growth since the city hosted the 1996 Olympics!
There are many factors that could contribute to a spike of nearly 150,000 new jobs in 2015:
The metro region could add up to 140,000 jobs this year, independent economist Marci Rossell. We have seen gains in the number of jobs the Atlanta region has created in the past two years with 60,000 created in 2013 and nearly 100,000 in 2014. The positive trend is a good sign that as the economy as a whole continues to gain steam that Atlanta will continue to reap the benefits.
For Atlanta, annual job growth of 140,000 would be astounding. That said, the region is racking up impressive economic development wins.
The forecast comes on the heels of Daimler AG choosing metro Atlanta as the new home of its Mercedes-Benz USA headquarters, a move that could bring 800 to 1,000 jobs to the region. State Farm Insurance Co. could employ up to 8,000 on its new Dunwoody campus, a project announced last year. Construction is already underway.
Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate for November fell to 6.5 percent, down five-tenths of a percentage point from 7.0 percent in October, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. Professional and business services and construction have seen some of the strongest employment growth. SunTrust Park, the new ballpark and mixed-use development for theAtlanta Braves, could employ up to 5,000 as construction picks up. The Atlanta Falconshave also started building their new downtown stadium.
Some information courtesy of: Douglas Sams who covers Commercial Real Estate for the Atlanta Business Journal.