There was good news for several sectors of the Savannah area economy, most notably construction employment, in the latest Coastal Empire Economic Monitor, released today by Armstrong State University.
Michael Toma, professor of economics and director of the school’s Center for Regional Analysis, said the region’s economy continued to improve in the third quarter, easing somewhat from the surging growth of the last three quarters to a more moderate, sustainable pace.
Toma’s quarterly report tracks 13 economic indicators in the Savannah MSA — Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties — to provide a continuously updated snapshot of the health of the area’s economy.
The report’s coincident index measures the current status of the region, while its leading economic index offers a short-term forecast for the next six to nine months.
“Our regional economy continues to move in the right direction as we put the Great Recession further and further behind us,” Toma said last week, adding that strength in employment growth, housing, port activity and tourism led the way, coupled with a slight uptick in retail sales.
“We did reach several significant milestones this quarter that reflect improving health in the labor and regional housing markets,” he said.
“The first is that initial claims for unemployment are now at the level we would typically expect to see in a relatively healthy labor market,” he said. “The other milestone is in the housing market, where the number of building permits for single family homes rose 24 percent, marking the strongest signal of activity in the residential housing market since the fall of 2007, just before the nationwide housing market slump.”
On the labor side, seasonally adjusted employment in the three-county metro area increased to 164,500 during the quarter. The service sector gained about 400 employees, while local government added 500 workers.
Toma said he was most encouraged by the growth in construction jobs
“Construction appears finally to have turned the corner, adding 200 jobs to climb to 5,500 workers,” he said.
Other players in the Savannah area’s economic growth were the ports, with Georgia Ports Authority reporting record tonnage in the quarter, and in regional tourism, where seasonally adjusted hotel and motel room receipts were up 12 percent from the same quarter last year. Boardings at the Savannah/Hilton Head International airport are 18 percent ahead of last year’s pace.
In summary, Toma said, both the coincident index and leading economic index continue to signal healthy and continued economic growth in the Savannah area through the second quarter of 2015.
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The Coastal Empire Economic Monitor is available by email and at the website of Armstrong’s Center for Regional Analysis. If you would like to receive the Monitor by email, please send a “subscribe” message to CRA@armstrong.edu.