Georgia

Georgia: back to recession

Georgia was ranked 39^th in the EPI state rankings, with the EPI score of 84.8%, or C level, in 2014. High unemployment, regional inflation, budget deficit, along with negative GDP growth all contributed to the state’s low EPI score in 2014.

While Georgia has a relatively diversified economy, with agriculture being one of the major drivers. This state is the number one producer of pecans in the world and is also a leading producer of soybeans, peanuts, cotton, and blueberries within the US. Another key driver is Georgia’s financial services as this contributed more than any other industry in the state, and accounted for 4.3% of the state’s total GDP in 2014. The energy sector also plays a key role in Georgia’s economy as Georgia ranked 10th in the nation in net electricity generation and 8th in retail sales of electricity.

Unemployment has steadily been declining by roughly one percentage point every year since 2011 but still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation at 7.1% in 2014. Regional inflation was slightly above the US average at 1.7% in 2014. The state was running a high budget deficit of 5.6% in 2014, and it was the first year that Georgia increased the budget deficit since 2010. GDP growth of -0.8% put the state into recession for the first time since the Great Recession of 2008.