ATLANTA — The economic boom continued in Georgia last year, with a second record-topping year of business investment and job growth.
Gov. Brian Kemp and the state Department of Economic Development announced $35.2 billion in project investments for the fiscal year that ended June 30. That is up from $26.3 billion the prior fiscal year, which had also broken records.
The figures are for companies newly locating in Georgia and for expansions by existing companies. Expansions accounted for 79% of projects and for 15,370 of the estimated 25,300 new private-sector jobs, the joint statement Thursday said.
Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt, but that adage does not seem to apply to Georgia and business.
“The greatest vote of confidence is a company choosing to expand their existing operations in our state,” Kemp said.
Three out of four of the new projects and expansions were outside the 10-county metro Atlanta region, spreading economic opportunity to rural Georgia.
A chunk of that investment came from overseas. Foreign companies invested $7.8 billion and creating 9,350 jobs, according to the state. The top investors were South Korea, Italy, Belgium, Canada, and France.
Last month, German industrial giant Siemens announced plans to develop a 550,000-square-foot manufacturing plant near Pendergrass. The $185 million investment was expected to produce 1,400 jobs.
Kemp said the investments last year showed how his administration was delivering on its promise “to bring good-paying jobs to hardworking Georgians in every zip code.”
Last year, Area Development gave Georgia its top overall ranking for business — for the 12th consecutive year.
Kemp often refers to that magazine’s ranking when touting his administration’s record. On Thursday, he said that with the latest economic development figures, “we’re proving why we remain the No. 1 state for business.”
Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for Georgia governor, has portrayed his priorities as a continuation of Kemp’s policies.
Jackson has said he would cut taxes while continuing to recruit companies to the state.
“I’m going to try to beat his record on putting together the most jobs, what he’s done in the rural areas,” Jackson said in August, when Kemp appeared alongside him at a Georgia Chamber of Commerce event in Athens.
Kemp said Georgia had “the most people working ever in the history of the state,” and he said he believed Jackson could “keep this going, and that’s why I’m supporting him.”
Jackson’s Democratic opponent, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, has targeted the cost of living as a top campaign issue, saying she has a plan to help Georgians afford their grocery bills.
During a campaign stop at a Gwinnett County grocery store Wednesday, Bottoms unveiled her plan to encourage cities and counties to waive sales taxes on groceries.
The Democratic state senator for the area opened the event by saying that Kemp — and by extension Jackson — had their priorities backward.
“Things are tough for everyone,” Sen. Sheikh Rahman, D-Lawrenceville, said, asserting that Bottoms, not Jackson, would be best at attacking high costs.
She will do “everything to make sure the state of Georgia is not the No. 1 state for business,” he said, “but the No. 1 state for family.”