Cyber will be the Augusta area’s anchor as it weathers the nation’s stormy, COVID-shaken economy.
That’s among the conclusions drawn in the Georgia Economic Outlook, an annual forecast presented by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.
Augusta lost 10.2% of its jobs during the COVID-19 recession, analysts found. But it fared better than the state and the nation, positioning the Augusta area for a swift recovery in 2021.
Next year, Augusta’s employment is expected to grow by 2,800 jobs, said Jeff Humphreys, director of UGA’s Selig Center for Economic Growth.
“That is more than the 2,000 jobs added in 2019 – the year prior to the COVID-19 recession. It helps that a high proportion of Augusta’s new jobs will be high-skill, high-pay jobs,” he said.