Employment Data
Last modified Tuesday, January 22, 2008 15:57
ARC recently released its 2006 employment estimates and finds that the 20-county area added more than 87,000 jobs between 2005 and 2006, a strong signal that metro Atlanta's economy is recovering from years of stagnant job growth. These gains might be temporary, however, as most economists cite the troubled housing market and rising energy costs as factors causing the national economy to slow, which would obviously impact Atlanta's continued recovery.
The Report: Download the
Regional Snapshot (PDF)
The Data: Download the
data tables , in a format for GIS users (Excel)
The Maps: Download the following maps (PDF):
Total Job Change, 2000 - 2006
Where the top-paying jobs are, 2006
Where the lowest-paying jobs are, 2006
Change in the top-paying jobs, 2005 - 2006
Change in the lowest-paying jobs, 2005 - 2006
Information jobs, 2006
Finance jobs, 2006
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Jobs, 2006
Wholesale Trade jobs, 2006
Mgmt. of Companies jobs, 2006
Health & Social Assistance jobs, 2006
Retail jobs, 2006
Accommodation & Food jobs, 2006
Administrative & Waste Mgmt. jobs, 2006
The Highlights:
The year 2005 to 2006 was a good one, with the 20-county Atlanta area adding 87,000 jobs.
Fulton leads in 2005-2006 job growth; Gwinnett overall leader in job growth since 2000. See Table 1 (Excel)
The 20-county area added disproportionately more low-paying jobs than high-paying ones.
Some numbers to consider: 24% of all jobs in 2006 were in top-paying job sectors, yet only 15% of the jobs added were in those sectors. Conversely, 37% of all jobs in 2006 were in low-paying sectors, yet 47% of the jobs added were in those sectors. See Chart 1 and Table 2 (both Excel)
When compared to other metro areas, Atlanta is the place to be, based on the proportion of good paying jobs.
ARC compared "location quotients" for Atlanta and nine other metro areas to determine relative strengths of each area's employment base. Location quotients are ratios that compare an area's job composition to that of the nation's. Any value above 1.0 means that an area has a higher concentration of jobs in a particular sector than does the nation. For example, Atlanta's location quotient for Information jobs is 1.67, meaning that Information jobs comprise a greater share (67% greater) of its total job base than in the nation. See Chart 2
The Jobs:
Download a table (Excel) showing what the average pay in metro Atlanta is for each job sector. What sorts of jobs do these sectors entail? Download an explanation (Word).
