University of West Georgia
The University of West Georgia hosted the inaugural Economic Outlook with enterprise, authorities and group leaders from Coweta County gathering to debate the native economic system and what to anticipate within the coming yr. From left are Dr. Hilde Patron, UWG’s Center for Business and Economic Research; Brent Meyer, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Dr. William “Joey” Smith, UWG’s Richards College of Business; Dr. Russell Crutchfield, UWG; and Rep. Lynn Smith, Georgia House of Representatives.
by Colton Campbell
The University of West Georgia hosted the inaugural Economic Outlook: Newnan Monday, with enterprise, authorities and group leaders from Coweta County gathering to debate the native economic system and what to anticipate within the coming yr.
The event, held at UWG Newnan and sponsored by Newnan Utilities, featured two specialists talking on each the present economic circumstances and indicators signifying the potential strengths and weaknesses of the economic system.
“It is important for UWG to leverage the talent capacity we have at the university to provide information to the community in a thoughtful way,” mentioned Dr. Russell Crutchfield, UWG’s affiliate vice chairman and chief of workers. “As part of our dedication to curating a first-choice university, we must be an economic and intellectual engine for companies, communities and organizations through mutually beneficial partnerships like the ones that make an event like this possible.”
Attendees heard from Brent Meyer, assistant vice chairman and economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and Dr. William “Joey” Smith, chair of the Department of Economics in UWG’s Richards College of Business and David A. Johnson Distinguished Scholar.
Smith shared that Coweta County is “doing well” economically, with the very best employment development within the area and with the variety of unemployment insurance coverage claims down 89.6 p.c from March 2021 to March 2022.
“Four-percent unemployment is what we typically consider the bottom of the structural unemployment you experience in an expansionary period,” Smith mentioned. “But Coweta is at 2.9 percent unemployment, and every county in the west Georgia region is below 4 percent.”
Smith mentioned Coweta has made features in its labor pressure over the previous two years, with greater than 2,000 further staff within the labor pressure than earlier than the pandemic.
“The so-called Great Resignation started before COVID-19, but it was exacerbated by the pandemic,” Smith mentioned, sharing that people eliminated themselves from the labor pressure for quite a lot of causes. “Nationally, the labor force is still down, but locally it’s fully recovered and even surpassed pre-pandemic levels.”
Both Meyer and Smith offered perception on key economic points impacting international, nationwide and native economies.
“As the pandemic wore on, supply chains faltered and labor markets at a national level tightened significantly, with firms trying to hire a lot of workers but still experiencing a shortfall of hires over vacancies,” Meyer mentioned. “That has made it difficult to generate the large employment and supply gains needed to satisfy demand.”
Meyer mentioned there may be a lot dialogue on the Fed on the possible “soft landing” from the pandemic in an economic sense.
“Monetary policymakers can’t affect supply very much, but they can affect demand,” he mentioned. “Our goal is to slow inflation and bring demand in line with supply without creating a recession.”
Smith shared that organizers plan to host the event yearly to pair with the annual Economic Forecast Breakfast held by the Center for Business and Economic Research every fall.
This yr’s Economic Forecast Breakfast will probably be held Tuesday, Nov. 1, at UWG’s Carrollton campus.