Analysis says Atlanta is punching above its weight
When it comes to growth and productivity, metro Atlanta punches above its weight, but is still being outdone by some other Southern cities, according to an analysis posted online Tuesday by Fifth Third Bank and the Kenan Institute at the University of North Carolina.
For many years, the Atlanta region has been growing faster than the national average, said Jeffrey Korzenik, chief economist for Fifth Third.
“Atlanta has consistently out-performed what the data says it should do,” he said.
While stronger than average, Atlanta was behind Charlotte and Dallas, according to the analysis.
Drawn from data collected for 30 areas around the country, the online snapshots are provided as part of a partnership between the bank and Kenan. The data and analysis are meant to be “a tool” for small businesses and communities in making investment decisions, according to the Cincinnati-based bank, which has 27 branches in Atlanta.
While timely data is plentiful for the U.S. economy, a company can have a harder time getting details about its own economic environment. And while it’s useful to know something about the big picture, the local scene typically differs in ways that can be crucial to a business, Korzenik said.
“We are not one economy, we are a nation of local economies,” he said.
Metro Atlanta, for example, has some sectors like finance, real estate and technology that have been much more productive than their national counterparts. Metro Atlanta has 25% more jobs than a decade ago, compared to the 14.3% growth of the nation overall, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Much of the Atlanta region’s strength has been because the metro area has continued to draw transplants from other parts of the country, as well as immigrants. Other factors not only attract new workers, but help maximize their effect, Korzenik said. “It has something to do with having a great airport, that Atlanta is such a transportation center, and with the educational attainment of people who live there.”
Atlanta also has more than its share of corporate headquarters, he said.
The metro area has headquarters for 17 of the 500 largest publicly traded companies and 32 of the top 1,000, including Home Depot, Mohawk Industries, NCR, Southern Co., UPS and Delta Air Lines, according to the state Department of Economic Development.
Atlanta’s region is also more economically entwined than most, Korzenik said. “The biggest thing that stuck out at us from the database is just how many counties are tied into the Atlanta economy. Atlanta has 42 counties that are tied together.”