Atlanta Fed President: City’s Economy ‘Well-Balanced’
Atlanta has been making slow but steady progress in recovering from the Great Recession. But when it comes to jobs and economic growth, it’s often hard – even for the experts – to predict whether those sectors will pick up momentum and when.
But, according to the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Dennis Lockhart, the city is faring well.
“We have a rather balanced economy in Atlanta, no particular industry on which the city is dependent,” Lockhart said during an interview on “A Closer Look.”
Both the home building sector and the business services – and services economy in general – are improving Lockhart said.
“The Atlanta economy is well-balanced and we’re seeing, not spectacular, but solid expansion.”
The metro area had a heavy dependence on the construction industry and new home building, which really “hit the wall” during the recession. Lockhart said it’s taken longer for the industry to recover.
“The building of homes got ahead of itself back in the 2007, 2006 period and it took a tremendous dive during the recession,” Lockhart explained.
He said Atlanta’s economic health is a mirror of the national economy.
“The Atlanta economy is going to track the country and the country went into the deepest recession in 50 years, so it’s not surprising that it’s been kind of slow to get back to something that resembles normal, whatever that may be, normal prior to the recession.”
Lockhart discussed second quarter growth, interest rates, Atlanta’s unemployment rate, the state of the region and more on “A Closer Look.”
WABE’s April Williams, Rose Scott, and Denis O’Hayer contributed to this report.
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