Metro Economic Outlook: Atlanta The Atlanta region has quickly built a reputation as a hub for the tech sector, and that industry is among the leaders for economic growth at the moment, along with biosciences and advanced manufacturing. 12 Unemployment rate Some of the recent high-profile wins for the area include an expansion by health care services company Kaiser Permanente, which is building a new IT center in Atlanta that will create 900 jobs by 2019, as well as Mercedes-Benz USA s decision to relocate its headquarters to suburban Atlanta. Mercedes will use temporary offices while a new facility is built in Sandy Springs that will house 950 jobs by early 2018. 10 8 6 4 2 0 5.1 5.5 Our unemployment rate is declining, and we ve seen steady growth in our key industry clusters, said Brian Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (September 2015) ATLANTA METRO: VITAL STATS Total working age population: 3,433,076 out of a total population of 5,611,829 Number of households: 1,981,447 Consumer price index: 225.027 (goods and services that cost $100 in 1982-1984 cost $225.03 in August 2015) Percentage of local residents with bachelor s degrees: 22.9 With graduate or professional degrees: 13.0 Student concentration: 78 college students per 1,000 residents Sources: Census Bureau (2014), Bureau of Labor Statistics (August 2015), American Institute for Economic Research (2014) McGowan, executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. This has been a very active time for economic development. Also arriving soon in the region are a new information technology center for Amtrak, which will create 200 local jobs, and the division of United Kingdombased Sage Group, a business management software firm that will bring 400 jobs to Atlanta starting in the fall of 2015. Demographic changes are also working in Atlanta s favor. As baby boomers retire and remain in or relocate to the Atlanta region, it has created strong demand for outpatient procedures and other industries related to health care. The fast pace of economic activity has also come with a cost, McGowan said. Unemployment and most CPI data updated monthly. Other data updated once annually as it becomes available.
Major growth also brings challenges with congestion and traffic, he said. We have more work to do at the state level to increasing funding for transportation and infrastructure. Construction Mining and logging Manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Information Financial activities Professional and business services Education and health services Leisure and hospitality Other services Government Total nonfarm The recent economic growth has also heightened the need for skilled workers in the Atlanta area. A regional collaborative, Metro Atlanta exchange for Workforce Solutions (MAX), is trying to address that demand. In a recent poll of workforce development agencies conducted by MAX, 38 percent of respondents cited lack of skills as the most critical challenge facing job seekers in metro Atlanta. Labor force makeup 100.4 1.3 153.9 565.9 87.8 163.6 462.6 313.6 258.2 96 325.5 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (January 2015) Meanwhile, Atlanta officials are trying to increase commerce beyond the region s borders. The Atlanta Metro Export Plan is designed to help small and 293,555, 8% Working age categories 378,065, 11% 2528.8 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 Number in thousands medium-size businesses increase their export capacity, McGowan said. It includes access to local experts for companies seeking to do business overseas, and the program will eventually offer grants for those endeavors. The third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters is in the Atlanta metro area, a 28-county region in northwestern Georgia. Among the high-profile businesses based locally are The Home Depot, UPS and Coca-Cola. 336,931, 1 811,647, 24% 828,773, 24% 784,105, 23% 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 59 60 to 64 One of the largest local private sector developments is happening courtesy of Baxter International, which is building a biopharmaceutical complex east of Atlanta that will eventually employ 1,500 people. Baxter will manufacture and distribute plasma-based therapies for chronic medical conditions at the facility, which is expected to be fully operational in 2018. Source: Census Bureau (2014) 2
Employee Benefits Data 25% 15% 1 5% Employers offering consumer-driven health plans 22% Employers in the Atlanta metro area offer consumerdriven health plans at a slightly higher rate than the national level, by a margin of 2 percent. 5 4 3 1 Employers offering domestic partner benefits 48% 43% They are slightly less likely to offer domestic partner benefits, by a margin of 5 percent below the national level. Source: SHRM Health Care Benefits Database (2014) Retirement Employee 401(k) participation rate 7 6 5 4 3 62% 52% The Atlanta metro area s workforce has a lower rate of employee 401(k) participation compared with the national level, by a difference of 10 percent. 1 Source: SHRM Retirement & Welfare Benefits Database (2013) 3
Income and Turnover Data Overall turnover rate 15% 1 5% 17% 18% The Atlanta area workforce s turnover rate is slightly higher than the national level, by a margin of 1 percent. Source: SHRM Human Capital Database (2014) $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 Median household income $53,657 $56,166 Median household income in the Atlanta metro area is slightly higher than the national level, by more than $2,000 annually. $0 Source: Census Bureau (2014) Per capita income $35,000 $30,000 $25,000 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000 $5,000 $0 $28,889 $29,170 Per capita income in the Atlanta area is nearly identical to the national level. Source: Census Bureau (2014) 4
Top Management Salaries Data Median salaries, top management Top legal executive Chief information officer *Top HR executive $346,400 $305,400 $265,300 $264,300 $200,000 $220,000 Median salaries for top management level employees in the Atlanta metro area vary when compared with the national median. Chief financial officer Chief executive officer $409,000 $344,400 $440,000 $618,400 *Georgia state median data, without labor relations experience $0 $200,000 $400,000 $600,000 $800,000 Source: Towers Watson Data Services 2014 Survey Report on Top Management Compensation Project lead: Joseph Coombs, Senior Analyst, Workforce Trends, SHRM Project contributors: Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, VP of Research; Jennifer Schramm, M. Phil., SHRM-SCP, Manager, Workforce Trends External contributors: Brian McGowan, Metro Atlanta Chamber Copy editing: Katya Scanlan, copy editor This report is published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). All content is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as a guaranteed outcome. SHRM cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions or any liability resulting from the use or misuse of any such information. 2015 Society for Human Resource Management. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. These materials and the data contained within them are copyrighted by SHRM, another copyright holder (where noted), or are government-owned. SHRM hereby grants permission for users to copy and use these materials and the data contained within them only if proper attribution is given to SHRM (or the noted copyright holder) as the source of the material. For more information, please contact: SHRM Research Department SHRM Human Capital Database 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA www.shrm.org/benchmarks Phone: (703) 548-3440 Fax: (703) 535-6432 SHRM Compensation Data Center Email: SHRMResearch@shrm.org www.shrm.org/research/shrmcompensationdataservice Web: www.shrm.org/research 5