Hello I’m Cyndi Tori, Economics Professor at Valdosta State University.  One of the programs that I participate in at VSU is the South Georgia Business Outlook.  It is a quarterly online publication that looks at the economic conditions for the 32 counties that comprise South Georgia.  Of course one of the areas of interest is the Greater Valdosta area or the Valdosta MSA. 

The economic conditions over the past couple of years have left us a little breathless as we’ve exited the great recession.  But the economic economy seems to be turning around, which is a real positive.  Jobs are slowly coming back.  We’ve seen new retail stores open up.  Hospitality has returned.  Professional jobs have begun to return as well.  So the economy is beginning to improve.  Housing is still a little bit slack.  We do have some lingering cyclical unemployment that’s still around, but it does appear that the economy is beginning to improve.  One of the things that’s probably a headwind for us, that is kind of outside of our control, are energy prices and of course the potential for higher taxes in the future.  We’re expected to see the payroll tax increase by 2%, which will reduce discretionary income for low income and incomes up to $110,000.  We’re going to see higher tax rates on capital gains and dividends, so that might hurt some of the travel and leisure discretionary spending that we see in our area. 

Moody Air Force Base is still a real positive for our community, as is the agricultural area.  For more information about the South Georgia business outlook, visit the  HYPERLINK "http://www.Valdosta.edu/lcoba" www.Valdosta.edu/lcoba.  Look for the Center for Business and Economic research website and follow the links.  Or you can email me, [email protected].  I respond to all the emails that I receive.