North Georgia has $171.5 million economic impact on local region
7/10/2012 11:13:03 AM
(July
10, 2012) – A newly released report states that North Georgia College &
State University made an economic impact of more than $171.5 million and
accounted for 1,917 jobs in a six-county area in Fiscal Year 2011, the period
between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011. The study area included Lumpkin, Hall,
Dawson, White, Forsyth, and Union counties.
The
report from the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia's
Terry College of Business measured the economic impact of the University System
of Georgia (USG) and its 35 member institutions. The report showed the USG had
a $13.2 billion economic impact on the state's economy during Fiscal Year 2011,
indicating the system’s value to the communities served by its institutions.
The system also generated more than 3 percent of the state's non-farm jobs
during that time, or 1 in 29.
“Comparisons
of the FY 2011 estimates to those for recent years show that our public college
and universities really proved their economic worth during tough economic
times,” said study author Dr. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of the University
of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth in the Terry College of Business.
“Without exception, each college or university is an economic lynchpin of its
host community.”
For
North Georgia, most of the $171,501,515 economic impact was due to initial
spending for salaries and benefits, operating supplies and expenses, other
budgeted expenditures, and spending by the students who attended the university
in FY2011. In addition to the economic impact of that is the primary portion of
the study, North Georgia had a $2.1 million economic impact resulting from
capital outlay or construction expenditures during FY2011.
“This
study shows the important role the university plays in the economic strength of
this region and the effect beyond the university’s initial spending,” said Dr.
Bonita C. Jacobs, president of North Georgia College & State University.
“Our students, faculty and staff represent a broad geographic expanse, and
their work and study at the university impacts counties throughout the region.”
North
Georgia's economic impact total includes nearly $35 million created by
re-spending in the region – the multiplier effect of the $136.4 million in
initial spending by the university. For every dollar of initial spending in a
community by an institution, researchers found that, on average, an additional
38 cents was generated for the local economy hosting a college or university.
Details
of the study indicate that Georgia's public higher education system generated
131,990 full- and part-time jobs across the state. Most of those jobs – 66
percent of them – are off-campus positions in the private or public sectors
that exist because of the presence in the community of USG institutions. North
Georgia’s employment impact of 1,917 jobs includes 1,337 jobs that exist in its
communities as a result of institution-related spending.
The
Selig Center's research does not quantify the many long-term benefits that a
higher-education institution and its outreach and service units impart to its
host community's economic development nor does it measure intangible benefits,
such as cultural and intellectual opportunities and volunteer work, to local
residents. Also, spending by university retirees who still live in the host
communities and by visitors to USG institutions, such as those attending
conferences or athletic events, is not measured.
Future
economic impact studies will incorporate statistics generated by the University
of North Georgia, the new institution to be created by the consolidation of
North Georgia College & State University and Gainesville State College. The
FY11 study indicates the economic impact of the combined institutions to be
$377.7 million and 4,167 jobs. The study area for Gainesville State College
includes Hall, Gwinnett, Jackson, White, Habersham, Lumpkin, Banks, and Forsyth
counties.