A report produced by the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center shows that a faster pace of economic growth in 2015 will benefit small businesses across the state.
There are about 960,000 small businesses in Georgia, employing 1.5 million people, according to the SBDC, which is a unit of the UGA Office of Public Service and Outreach. Georgia’s small businesses generated $40 billion in sales in 2013.
Over the past five years, the SBDC, which has 17 locations throughout the state, has helped launch 1,385 new businesses and has helped create 10,092 jobs.
“Small businesses are a key component of Georgia’s economy for both jobs and innovation,” said SBDC Director Allan Adams. “UGA is working with communities across the state to make locally owned business creation and expansion a part of their economic development planning.”
A recent study by the UGA Terry College of Business projected that the total nonfarm employment for the state would increase by about 2.3 percent in 2015. The U.S. employment rate is expected to increase by 1.8 percent this year.
The fastest growth for small businesses is expected to occur in construction, professional and business services, mining and logging and in health care.
“Small businesses operating in or serving these fast-growing industries should do very well in 2015,” wrote Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the Terry College, in his outlook for 2015, included in the SBDC report.
Humphreys also predicts that Georgia’s transportation infrastructure will “spur more small business activity in the logistics and distribution industry” and that cybersecurity and software/mobile app development will see strong revenue and job growth.
Accommodations and food service, health care and social assistance, retail trade and professional, scientific and technology companies are the top small firm employment industries in the state. More than a quarter of all small businesses with employees are in accommodations and food service and health care and social assistance industries.
The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center is a statewide provider of management consulting and training for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. As part of a nationwide network of SBDC programs, the SBDC in Georgia has offices in 17 locations across the state.
