GOAL 8: Maintain regional prosperity by attracting new strong businesses to all areas of the region.
INDICATORS:
Number of businesses in the region
Job growth in the region
Unemployment rate in the region
Why are these indicators important?
The number of businesses, the addition of new jobs and the unemployment rate are all key measures of a region's economic health. In a healthy economy, job growth is strong and unemployment is low, because businesses are prosperous enough to provide jobs for most job seekers. The unemployment rate also indicates how well (or how poorly) local workers' skills match the available jobs.
How are we doing?
Despite Delta's financial difficulties and the announced and actual closings of the region's major military bases and automobile manufacturers, the Atlanta metro area continues to grow.
In the Atlanta region, the number of businesses with paid employees has increased steadily from 2000 to 2004. During 2003- 2004 alone, there was a three percent increase in the businesses in the ten county region.
As might be expected, the four largest counties show the greatest number of businesses and jobs. Based on the 2004 figures, Fulton leads the region by far, with 32,899 businesses with paid employees, followed by Gwinnett (20,150), Cobb (19,163) and DeKalb (16,001). Each of these counties saw an increase over the 2003 numbers.
Considering the annual trend from 2000-2004, Henry County experienced the highest increase of businesses at 26 percent followed by Cherokee at 21 percent. Both Clayton and DeKalb counties experienced an overall decrease in numbr of businesses. While Clayton decrease has been steady, DeKalb County's calculated loss is a net decrease meaning that it decreased for two years straight and has been increasing since 2003.
Once again, however, as of June 2006, our indicators confirm significant disparities in employment opportunities depending on where Atlanta regional residents live or job-hunt. The three counties closest to the urban core - Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton and the City of Atlanta - continue to show the highest unemployment rates, while Cherokee County's unemployment was the lowest (3.7 percent) in the region.
Nine of the ten counties reported a slight increase in unemployment rates from 2004- 2005. The unemployment rate in Cherokee county stayed the same during this time, while the City of Atlanta showed a slight decrease.
Regional Prosperity
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