Georgia’s economy will grow faster than the nation’s in the coming year, according to the annual forecast from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.
The state’s growth will also be faster than its long-run average for the first time since the devastating 2007-09 recession, said Benjamin Ayers, dean of Terry, who delivered the forecast Friday in a talk to more than 650 people at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta.
“This will be a positive change from what Georgia has experienced in recent years,” he said.
Home prices on average will increase 6 percent, he said.
Fastest growing sectors include construction and manufacturing. In contrast, the slowest growth will come in government, technology and the financial sector.
The state’s trajectory could be threatened if the federal government makes significant cuts in military spending or if banks make credit harder to come by, Ayers said.
“That is because Georgians carry relatively more debt and have relatively less savings than the national average.”
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