GSU's Fiscal Research Center Releases 2016 Economic Assessment

Ahead of the 2016 Legislative Session, Georgia State University’s Fiscal Research Center is out with its assessment of the state's economic landscape.  The news is mixed. Georgia's economy strengthening considerably from the recession of 2007-2009, but the state continues to lag behind the nation in terms of unemployment (5.6% in Georgia vs 5.0% nationally) and wage growth.  Some key findings in the report:

• In terms of state government revenue, Georgia has finally returned to prerecession levels in real dollars, but Georgia’s per capita state revenue ranked 50^th out of the 50 states.
• The number of employed Georgians has increased to 4.47 million from a recession low of 4.19 million, however the mix of employment in the labor force has changed significantly.
• Manufacturing and construction jobs saw the largest decline while health care and the accommodation/food industry saw the largest employment growth.
• Georgia’s personal income per capita ranked 40^th in the country while the growth rate in personal income stood at 3.7%, making Georgia the 22^nd fastest growing income state in the country.
• Finally, Georgia sales and use tax revenues continue to decline as households shift towards consumption of services typically exempted from sales taxes and the growth of online sales continued to erode sales in traditional channels.

A full copy of the report is available here from Georgia State University Fiscal Research Center