Dan Wagner

ATLANTA—Atlanta's job growth came in just shy of 60,000 for calendar year 2017. That's after 81,800 gains in 2016 and 78,800 in 2015. So says CBRE research.

Since the end of 2010, the firm reports, nearly 450,000 jobs have been added to the market. That puts the region near the top of the US in terms of percentage growth, and in turn placing it on the short list of metros for corporate relocation, startup activity and capital investment interest.

Moreover, office using job additions, which drive demand for office space, have remained incredibly strong in Atlanta. In fact, office job additions are ranking as high as number one in the nation during this expansion cycle.

Growth in the office sector has been both robust and sustained for several years. But Dan Wagner asks a very pointed question: Can it continue at this pace?

“Perhaps, but most job estimates for Atlanta point to moderating growth for 2018, generally ranging from 50,000 to 60,000,” Wagner tells GlobeSt.com. “Despite the predicted slower rate of additions relative to 2015 and 2016, the wind down should go mostly unnoticed, in large part because Atlanta's job growth rate is already decelerating—a trend that started back in January of 2017.”

Still, during this deceleration period Atlanta ranked second overall in terms of job growth rate among the largest US metropolitan areas and absorbed more than 850,000 square feet of office space.

“The rate of employment additions is returning to a more sustainable level,” says Wagner, “one that should continue to provide a healthy pipeline of demand for Atlanta's office market.”

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