Call Center Company in Savannah, GA

“Tourist-related activity recovered strongly, and activity at Georgia Ports Authority facilities closed out the year strongly to support the regional economy,” said Michael Toma, Ph.D., Georgia Southern’s Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Economics.

Toma also pointed out that the business forecasting index weakened due to shorter work weeks and building permit values for single-family homes moderated. The regional labor market remains strong as initial claims from unemployment insurance declined sharply and unemployment remained low.

Savannah Metro Economy Back on Track

The business index for the Savannah metro economy increased 0.5% (2.1% annualized) in the bounce-back fourth quarter of 2024. Tourism indicators recovered sharply while port activity jumped, and retail sales increased strongly.

Employment Sector

Metro Savannah employers added a modest 100 workers during the quarter, raising total employment to 208,100. In the service sector, employment gains were strongest in leisure and hospitality (+800) and logistics (+600), but were partially offset by declines in business and professional services (-200) and wholesale trade (-400).

In the tourism sector, seasonally adjusted hotel and motel taxes surged 16% from the previous quarter while boardings at the airport swelled by 10.3%. Retail sales recovered from the previous quarter’s stall, rising by 5%. The leisure and hospitality sector provides work for 27,900 employees.

Port activity, as measured by shipping container units handled, increased 4.2% during the closing quarter of the year. By December, containers handled were up by nearly 10% compared to previous-year data. The regional logistics sector added jobs and now employs 19,800 workers.

The goods-producing side of the economy mostly held steady during the quarter at 33,100 workers. Construction employment shed 100 workers to stand at 10,200. Likewise, manufacturing employment held steady at 22,900 workers after a modest upward revision in total employment.

Private-sector wages, after adjusting for inflation, increased 2% to $25.78 from $25.27 per hour during the quarter. Over-the-year gains in wages are 3.8%. Wage gains were partially offset, however, by a continued shortening of the workweek length by 1.5% (27 minutes).

Regional Labor Market

In the labor market, the monthly number of initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) plunged 12% to 642 from the hurricane-elevated number of 731 in the previous quarter. Consequently, the regional unemployment rate notably fell to 2.9% from 3.4% in the previous quarter.

Housing Market

In the housing market, the seasonally adjusted monthly issuance of construction permits for single-family homes increased 12% for the second consecutive quarter, rising to 797 permits from 711. The over-the-year gain increased to 18.5%. The average value for a single-family building permit issued decreased 3.6%, however, to $252,200 from $261,700. The building permit value does not include the cost of land.

The fourth-quarter decline in the forecasting index is likely to continue in 2025. Regional indicators of current economic activity are expected to slow in the first half of 2025. Restructuring of international trade flows will presumably be reflected in port activity, logistics employment and manufacturing employment in the latter half of 2025.

In the short run, growth in the Savannah metro economy is now expected to slow in 2025 and fall below its long-term trend. Whether this results in economic contraction in the Savannah metro economy will depend on the as-yet unknown effects of evolving U.S. trade policy.

A Note from the Analyst

The Economic Monitor is available by email and at Georgia Southern’s Center for Business Analytics and Economic Research’s website. To receive the Monitor by email send a ‘subscribe’ message to CBAER@georgiasouthern.edu.

About the Indicators

The Economic Monitor provides a continuously updated quarterly snapshot of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area economy, including Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties in Georgia. The coincident index measures the current economic heartbeat of the region. The leading index is designed to provide a short-term forecast of the region’s economic activity in the upcoming six to nine months.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Arsenio Young says he was boarding a Delta Airlines flight from Savannah to Atlanta on Tuesday, May 20 when he realized the plane was too hot.

“I asked the flight attendant like hey, can I get some more water to drink, and I looked over and I see the other passengers,” Young explained. “They’re sweating, they’re fanning and they’re complaining. It’s hot in here, it’s hot in here.”

Flight Aware says that flight landed two and a half hours late.

Young never made it back to Atlanta that night.

“They had to rush me to Memorial hospital,” Young said. “The doctor said that if I was for another 10 or 15 minutes, I would’ve had a heat stroke.”

Young is out of the hospital and back home now.

He says he was able to get an incident report from the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport.

The officer who responded wrote in the report that the plane was, “extremely hot.”

“He’s complaining like oh my gosh it’s so freaking hot on this plane, I see why he passed out and the officer almost passed out,” Young said, referring to the responding officer.

Young says after it all happened, he reached out to Delta to file a complaint but didn’t heard back.

We reached out to Delta airlines for a statement a day before this story was set to air. He says that’s when he got a call back about the incident.

“They reached out, asking if I’m okay,” Young said.

A Delta Airlines spokesperson sent WTOC this statement:

“Delta representatives have been in touch with the passenger who sought medical assistance after a May 20 flight to Atlanta returned to the gate. We’ll work with him to address any costs associated with treatment.”

They also said: “While uncommon, uncomfortable cabin temperatures can occur in certain circumstances while on the ground for limited periods.”

Young says he hopes no one else has to experience what he did.

“They got to do better; they just got to do better.”

Delta Airlines says they have a team that reviews reports of uncomfortable cabin temperatures on the ground, including this instance.

WTOC asked what came of that review, we’re still waiting to hear back.

You have three more days (counting today) to enjoy sweet Vidalia onions in different preparations for the Champagne of Onions Restaurant Week in Savannah. Chefs at Husk Savannah, Flora and Fauna, and Common Thread have partnered with Shuman Farms, a family-owned-and-operated grower and shipper located in Reidsville, Georgia, in Tattnall County—one of only 20 counties certified to produce Vidalia onions.

John Shuman, president and CEO of Shuman Farms, is the second generation of his family to live the sweet (onion) life. After he graduated from Georgia Southern University in the mid-1980s, he returned to help his father Buck with what was then an 80-acre family farm. Even with all its trials, Shuman realized farming was his calling.

In 1986, World Onion Magazine declared that Shuman Farms grew the sweetest onions in the industry. Shuman attributes his father’s deep knowledge of soil and micronutrients for that honor. Buck owned fertilizer and seed distribution stores in Toombs County. Area farmers would bring their soil samples to his father, who then would blend custom fertilizers for them—a practice that grew as Vidalia onions gained the attention of prominent chefs in the early 1990s.

“I think my dad was one of the first in the area to truly understand the relationship between some of the micronutrients in the soil and how to produce and grow a premium sweet onion,” said Shuman.

Experimentation and innovation have been baked into the farm’s DNA, so to speak, said Shuman, who explained that in the 40 years he has helmed and grown Shuman Farms’ profile and reach, they have also reduced the number of overall inputs in the soil as well as reduced water usage. They have also developed new varieties in partnership with the University of Georgia, such as sweet red onions called “RealSweet Rubies,” which are available only between May and July, just as the Vidalia onion season wanes.

“As a farm and as an industry, we’re producing more tons per acre than we ever have,” said Shuman. “The industry has actually gone from a high of about 15,000 acres 20 years ago to about 11,000 acres…but we’re producing more onions on those 10, 11,000 acres than we ever did at 15,000 acres.”

Area chefs look forward to the brief but sweet Vidalia onion season

Which makes Savannah-area chefs, such as Brandon Carter of the Farm Hospitality Group, thrilled. FHG are “huge supporters of local agriculture and makers, everything that gives you a sense of place,” said Carter, who added that he has been cooking with Vidalia onions since he first picked up a knife.

“I really look forward to the spring Vidalia onions, the ones that are a little bit more petite and, you can kind of showcase them a little bit more,” Carter mused. “[The Vidalia] is a center-of-the-plate vegetable. It’s got that superpower—the sweetness, the complexity.”

For the Champagne of Onions Restaurant Week, he and Opie Crooks are serving a Roasted Onion Salad where the onions are sliced and grilled and served with goat’s milk cheddar, romesco, apples, granola bits and hot honey.

At another Farm Group outpost, Flaura and Fauna’s Chef Tyler Kenny is plating Rondelles D’Oignon, which Carter describes as onion rings with a remoulade-style sauce topped with smoked trout roe. “It’s simple and delicious and checks all the boxes.”

Lest you think Vidalias will disappear from the menu once this week is over, Carter assured that “we’ll use Vidalias until there are no more Vidalias left. And then we’ll wait for next spring.”

Husk Savannah’s Jacob Hammer also is participating in the weeklong onion celebration with a multi-layered salad of shaved Vidalia onions over local greens and asparagus, boiled peanuts and Asher blue, then brightened by a caramelized Vidalia onion dressing and topped with crispy onion rings.

Champagne of Onions Restaurant Week raises funds to end hunger

The Champagne of Onions Restaurant Week is more than a promotional tour while Georgia’s official state vegetable is at peak seasonality. The week raises funds for Shuman Farms’ Healthy Family Project.

“As a component of that promotion with restaurants, we will donate to the restaurants’ local food bank of choice during that week,” said John Shuman. “Our community outreach supports Feeding America food banks all over the country, and so we feel that being a grower and farmer and shipper, it’s our responsibility to give back, to address food insecurity and support that cause.”

Since 2002, Shuman Farms has donated more than 22 million meals to help end hunger in America.

Carter has chosen Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia as the beneficiary of its proceeds.

“The Kids Café is a big one that gets me choked up,” said Carter. “We try to support Second Harvest throughout the year…their impact is undeniable.”

And it is scaling up that impact that is most important to him. “I think that our best plan of action is probably to support the organizations that do it well, like Second Harvest and the Forsyth Farmers Market’s [Food Truck 912] program. When you have the opportunity to support organizations that have big impact, like these, I think the answer has got to be ‘yes.’”

Amy Paige Condon is a content coach, editor and reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at ACondon@gannett.com.

The Savannah Harbor Innovation Partnership (SHIP) — a new organization dedicated to fostering innovation and attracting investment in the Savannah, Georgia, region — has launched, marking a significant milestone in the expanded evolution of the area’s innovation ecosystem.

SHIP builds on the foundation of the Savannah Logistics Innovation Center (SLIC), which was created by organizations such as Georgia Southern University’s Business Innovation Group (BIG) and the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA), to name a few.

“Georgia Southern is thrilled to be a part of this transformative initiative at the outset,” said Dominique Halaby, DPA, associate vice president for innovation at Georgia Southern University. “SHIP will not only enhance our ability but the abilities of our entire network of regional academic institutions to support local entrepreneurs, as well as position Savannah and the harbor region at large as a leading hub for innovation and logistics solutions.”

SHIP’s enhanced approach to building a wider, scalable, sustainable ecosystem will further some of the broader region’s collective goals in attracting unique, marquee companies and growing opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Following its recent strategic plan, SHIP will incorporate the mission of SLIC, including its focus on logistics and supply chain innovation, while fostering expansion into other key industry pillars.

The organization will coordinate efforts among regional entities that each contribute unique expertise to an innovation ecosystem to drive strategic alignment, establish best practices and encourage interconnectivity while maintaining an eye on measurable outcomes. SHIP is finalizing representatives for its board of directors, which will include leaders from research institutions, technology and entrepreneurship experts and investors from key businesses and organizations in and around the Savannah Harbor region. Maintaining a nimble, efficient, multidisciplinary and market-driven board is critical to SHIP’s mission of defining, building and continuously evolving the innovation ecosystem for the Savannah Harbor.

SHIPs broader scope and strategy leverage a newly formed relationship with venture capital firm VentureSouth, which has committed to providing investment education in the region, and with SHIP leadership’s support, will actively recruit investors for startup companies and venture funds.

“I am excited about the potential this partnership holds for the Savannah region,” said Bart Gobeil, SHIP chairman. “By building on past successes and leveraging our collective strengths, we are making an evolutionary step in our mission to foster the thriving innovation ecosystem to attract investment and drive economic growth.”

About Savannah Harbor Innovation Partnership (SHIP)The Savannah Harbor Innovation Partnership (SHIP) is a public-private partnership dedicated to fostering innovation and attracting investment in the Savannah, Georgia region. By leveraging the strengths of key local institutions and industry leaders, SHIP aims to create a thriving innovation ecosystem that addresses major business challenges and drives economic growth.

About Savannah Logistics Innovation Center (SLIC)The Savannah Logistics Innovation Center (SLIC) has been focused on advancing logistics innovation through strategic partnerships and innovative programming. By working closely with corporate and research partners, SLIC has aimed to solve major logistics challenges and support economic growth in the Savannah region.

About Business Innovation Group (BIG) of Georgia Southern University The Business Innovation Group (BIG) at Georgia Southern University is committed to fostering an entrepreneurial culture in the region. BIG supports startups and business development through mentoring, resources and access to a network of industry experts and investors.

About Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA)The Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA)’s mission is to create job opportunities and investment in the Savannah region through business expansion, attraction and new investments through strategic initiatives and partnerships.

About Savannah Area Chamber of CommerceThe Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce advocates for local businesses and works to create a vibrant economic environment in the Savannah region. The Chamber provides resources, networking opportunities and support for businesses of all sizes.

About VentureSouthVentureSouth is a leading early-stage venture firm that supports and invests in startups across the Southeastern United States. Through its extensive network of angel investors and venture funds, including the newly formed 912 Angels in Savannah, VentureSouth provides critical capital and resources to emerging companies.

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