Georgia area occupational trends: WIA area #14 - Lower Chattahoochee, projections to 2008

Occupations with Most Annual Openings

Cashiers General Mgrs & Top Execs
Salespersons, Retail General Office Clerks Waiters & Waitresses
Janitors & Cleaners Guards
Registered Nurses Comb Food Prep/Serv Wkrs
Systems Analysts Computer Programmers Secretaries, Ex Legal or Med Food Preparation Workers Hand Packers & Packagers

220 170 130 130 120 110 100 90 90 80 70 70 70 70

" Half of the annual openings in this list will result from the need to replace workers who change jobs rather than from new job creation.
" Three of these jobs are directly related to healthcare or computer technology.
" Nine require short-term on-the-job training of one month or less.
" Although these occupations have many projected annual openings, more than half of them pays less than average wages.

Occupations with Largest Declines

-460

-140 -80 -60 -50 -50 -50 -40 -40 -30 -30 -30 -30 -30

Textile Mach Oprs/Tndrs Textile Mach Setrs/Oprs Bank Tellers Machinery Mechanics: Textile Production Inspectors, Graders Textile Blch/Dye Mach Oprs/Tndrs Mach Feeders & Offbearers Computer Operators, Exc Periphrl Sheet Metal Workers First Line Superv: Production Elect Pow erline Intlrs/Rprs Slaughterers & Butchers Textile Draw -Out Mach Oprs Meat, Poultry, Fish Cutters

" The occupations in this list are declining due to many factors, including technological advances, office automation and foreign competition.
" Five of these jobs are found mainly in textiles and apparel manufacturing.
" Two are in clerical jobs with increasingly automated duties.
" One is in information technology and is the result of switching from mainframe computers to personal computers.

Georgia Area
Occupational Trends

Projections to 2008
WIA Area # 14 Lower Chattahoochee

Harris

Ta lb o t

Muscogee

S te w ar t
Q uitm an Randolp h
Clay
This area is made up of eight counties in west Georgia in and around the city of Columbus. It includes the following counties: Chattahoochee, Clay, Harris, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart, and Talbot.
Workforce Information & Analysis Division Georgia Department of Labor Michael L. Thurmond Commissioner

Total employment in WIA Area #14 is expected to reach more than 150,000 jobs by the year 2008, with more than 2,200 new jobs added each year. While the area's economy is currently not growing as fast as Georgia's overall, it is growing faster than the nation's economy. Area job growth is expected to be 1.8 percent per year, while Georgia's expected job growth is expected to be 2.4 percent per year and the nation is expected to have annual job growth of 1.4 percent.
Area Highlights
" This area is the home of a regional medical center and a major military base.
" It is also the location of a major international insurer, as well as a major credit card holding company.
" Substantial employment can be found in health services, education services, insurance, finance, food processing, textile mills, and federal government service.
" Area population grew by only 3.2 percent over the ten years from 1988 to 1998, among the smallest increases in the state. In contrast, the state of Georgia grew at a rate of 20.9 percent over the same period.
" This area's total personal income grew at a modest rate of 61.9 percent for the period, while Georgia's total personal income growth was 96.8 percent.

.astest Growing Occupations

Systems Analysts Computer Programmers
Guards Reception/Information Clks Hand Packers & Packagers Nursing Aides & Orderlies
Registered Nurses Janitors & Cleaners Teachers, Secondary School Clerical Supervisors General Mgrs & Top Execs
Cashiers General Office Clerks Marketing/Sales Supervisors Teachers, Elementary

8.6% 6.7% 4.6% 3.6% 3.3% 3.2% 3.1% 2.8% 2.4% 2.3% 2.1% 2.1% 2.0% 1.6%

15.9%

" These fast-growing occupations will have better employment prospects than occupations with slow or declining employment. Also, conditions will be more favorable for mobility and advancement.
" The top two fastest growing occupations are associated with computer technology.
" Four are found mainly in health services or are computer-related.
" Several of these occupations have higher than average wages.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Program Auxiliary Aids and Services Available upon Request to Individuals with Disabilities

Occupations with Largest Job Growth

General Mgrs & Top Execs Systems Analysts Cashiers Guards
Janitors & Cleaners Registered Nurses General Office Clerks Computer Programmers Reception/Information Clks Hand Packers & Packagers Nursing Aides & Orderlies Marketing/Sales Supervisors Clerical Supervisors Secretaries, Ex Legal or Med Computer Engineers Teacher Aides, Paraprof

930 770 710 710 630 560 560 480 450 420 410 350 330 300 290 290

" These 16 occupations out of more than 700 - are projected to add about 8,200 jobs over the next 10 years, about 36 percent of all projected job growth in this area.
" Eight occupations require short-term on-the-job training of one month or less and four require a bachelor's degree.
" Thirteen of these occupations also appear in the chart of the fastest growing occupations.
For copies of the Georgia Career Planner, Georgia Occupational Trends in Brief
or this publication, call 404/656-3177 or contact your local
Department of Labor office.