SAVANNAH, Ga.-Hotels are hiring new desk clerks and housekeepers in anticipation of a spring tourist boom in Savannah, while even a rural Georgia city devastated by manufacturing losses is putting people back to work as construction begins on a $57 million private prison.
Yes, Georgia still lags behind most of the U.S. with a 10.4 percent unemployment rate and barely a trickle of new hiring to make up for 350,000 jobs lost since 2007. But economists said they see the state’s economy slowly pulling itself from the grip of recession and predict more progress will be evident by the year’s end.
“The overall trend, if you look, clearly shows an economy that is recovering,” said Jeffrey Humphreys, economic forecaster at the University of Georgia. “By the end of the year, I think Georgia will be performing on par with the rest of the nation.”
What looks promising? Last week the state Department of Revenue reported that February tax collections rose 26 percent compared with the same month a year ago. Sales taxes were up, a sign that Georgians are spending more.
Corporate income tax collections also increased, signaling that businesses are making more money. And it was the eighth straight month that state revenues increased, signaling the good news is not likely a fluke.