NEWS

The Chamber hosted a joint meeting of the President’s Council and Owner’s Council last week with Dr. Michael Toma of the Terry Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University. Dr. Toma provided a mid-year update on the state of the local economy, where he announced that our local economy is again picking up steam after some slight softening. Despite the setbacks the pandemic has caused, our local region has created more than 54,000 new jobs since 2010. In 2023, our local unemployment rate remains at or near historic lows with the creation of an additional 4,500 new jobs, including positive job growth in the tourism sector in 2022 and 2023.

When SEDA announced Hyundai would be moving to Bryan County, they also announced approximately 5,000 jobs would be created by supplier facilities. Dr. Toma notes that more than 80 percent of those jobs have already been reported, and the growth he believes we will see unfolding now will increase manufacturing jobs by a “stunning” 75 percent in the Savannah region. Likewise, significant investments by the Georgia Ports Authority and private entities in the logistics sector continue to drive our local economy and the entire state. Expansion of the Convention Center and significant investments in hotel properties also signal continued growth in Savannah’s tourism economy.

Dr. Toma concludes that a widely-predicted recession appears less and less likely as our region is positioned to fare better than most of the state and country.