Economic Development Features

Atlanta Life CEO Ronald D. Brown leads a company with a rich history, a social commitment and a special place in the Atlanta business community.

Inflation-adjusted gross state product will increase by 3.2 percent, better than the 3 percent we expect for 2005 when the final numbers are in. Better news: The pace of job growth will nearly double from 0.7 percent in 2005 to 1.3 percent in 2006.

Atlanta's just-opened Georgia Aquarium is to most aquariums what Home Depot is to most hardware stores - vastly larger, far different from the norm and filled with a huge and diverse inventory.

Hot job prospects are in evidence throughout the state, as demographic shifts and changes in the economy help brighten the employment picture

So many ships and so much cargo pass through Georgia's deepwater ports at Brunswick and Savannah - with so much efficiency - that business has increased by 150 percent in the past decade and will likely do the same in the next 10 years.

Despite the effects of damaging hurricanes, I expect the nation's economic expansion to continue, but with a moderate slowdown in the pace of growth.

When business owners and civic leaders come together to address common problems, the answer is often a community improvement district. Gwinnett County is about to get the largest one in Georgia.

In 2006, most retailers will see both top- and bottom-line growth, but job-seekers should look to other sectors of the economy.