Click to view Floyd County employment figures
Employment in Floyd County is nearing an all-time high, with figures recorded by the state Department of Labor breaching 50,000 in recent months.
Floyd County crossed the 50,000 mark for the first time in October, when state figures reflected a record employment of 50,245. The county reached an employment high of 51,012 in December, dropping slightly in January — the most-recent month on record — to 50,675.
“It is good news because people that have jobs have a better opportunity of a higher quality of life for themselves and their families,” said Al Hodge, president and CEO of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce.
“That’s a sign of healthy growth,” Hodge said of the county’s surging employment. “And it is another tool in the kit” for recruiting new industries and companies to the area.
Chamber officials share employment stats with potential employers, including companies eyeing the county for expansion, he said. Commercial real estate agents also use the figures in negotiating with new retailers and restaurants.
The recent employment surge follows an increasing trend occurring in the county over the last 17 years.
Area employment figures rose by 10,290 — an increase of more than 20 percent — between 1990 and 2006. During the same period, the county’s population grew less than 15 percent to 95,322 as of July, according to recent Census estimates.
Floyd County also slashed its unemployment rate from 7.3 percent to 4.3 percent over the 17-year span, undercutting the 2006 rate of 4.6 percent at the state and national level.
Diversification of the county’s economy and employment base may explain the trend, Hodge said.
A February study of Floyd’s economic standing by Moody’s Investors Service, a worldwide research firm specializing in credit and risk analysis, supports Hodge’s view.
In its report, Moody’s analysts said Floyd County is the hub of a multi-county trade and service area.
“While the region traditionally relied on agriculture and the vulnerable textiles industry, the county’s economy has diversified during recent years to include advanced manufacturing, logistics and service industries,” the report stated.
Moody’s cited Suzuki Manufacturing of America Corporation’s all-terrain vehicle plant, which opened in Rome in 2002, and three regional health-care centers — Floyd Medical Center, Redmond Regional Medical Center and Harbin Clinic — as leaders in the county’s diversification effort.
David Howerin, planning director for the Coosa Valley Regional Development Center, said Floyd’s employment boost bodes well for all of Northwest Georgia.
“It must mean that jobs are being created not only in Floyd County but in these surrounding counties, too,” said Howerin, adding that figures include people who commute from Floyd to other areas.
Local leaders are smart to push for greater economic diversity, he said.
“If an economic sector takes a downturn, it does not affect your local economy as much as it could if it was not diversified very well,” he said.
Hodge said area leaders are already applying Howerin’s advice. “All of that is part of the Rome-Floyd 20/20 plan and the deliberate effort by the city, county, chamber and development authorities to diversify (Floyd’s) employers, which helps to diversify the economy,” he said.
