Metro Atlanta was ranked 44th as the world’s largest economy, according to a report released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors held on June 20-22 in Dallas.
The city also ranked 10th largest metropolitan economy in the U.S., according to the report.
Robert Moore, Associate Professor of economics, said metro Atlanta is the primary focal point for economic activity in Georgia.
“Based on figures in the report, greater that 68% of the economic activity in the state takes place in Atlanta,” he said. “Another way to think of it is that without Atlanta, Georgia’s economy would be somewhere between that of Alabama and Mississippi in terms of the level of economic activity (calculated from appendix table 3 of the report).”
Moore also said there are more options for students in a large and growing economy.
“The size of the Atlanta economy and its projected reasonably healthy growth rate provides students with opportunities that do not exist elsewhere in the region, but it is important for students to take advantage of career planning, internships, networking, and similar activities to reap the benefits of being in a metro area with such a large level of economic activity,” he said.
Some of the top companies in metro Atlanta include Innvolt, GSC Packaging and Green Box Foods. These companies are steadily growing and have million dollar revenues, according to Inc’s website.
Metro Atlanta’s annual growth rate is higher than the U.S.’s of 2.8 percent, according to The World Bank.
However, Atlanta’s unemployment rate is slightly higher than the U.S.’s 6.3 percent, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Atlanta’s unemployment rate of 6.5 percent is predicted to drop to 5.3 percent by 2016 and it has an annual growth rate of 3.6 percent, according to the report. Iran and Atlanta are tied in the 44th place.
Malaysia’s economy is ranking in 43rd place and Nigeria’s placed 45th, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
