Metro Atlanta payroll increased by 2.5% annually in November
2023 as local employers added 76,500 jobs. Strong job gains in November occurred despite a hiring slowdown in the information and business/professional services sectors, which contracted by 3.6% and 0.9%, respectively. Job losses were offset, however, by a 5.3% uptick in financial services employment. This increase comes as several major financial services companies plan expansions in Atlanta, including Morgan Stanley, Trimont and American Express.
Robust job creation also occurred in education and health services, which expanded by 7.1% year-over-year (YOY). Close behind, the leisure and hospitality sector added jobs at a rate of 6.7% in November YOY, buoyed by recent growth in business travel.
Amid sustained employment creation, Atlanta registered a 172% increase in annual net migration, jumping from 21,800 people in 2021 to 59,443 in 2022. Of those who moved to Atlanta last year, 37% were from other countries. Driven by Atlanta’s popularity, the state of Georgia recorded the fifth-highest net gain of residents in the U.S. YOY in 2022. The most common states for new residents to relocate from were Florida, California and Texas.