Happy 2017! Can you believe that we are already 13 days into the New Year? While the first Friday the 13th of the year may have a few of us spooked, there is no need to be alarmed – GDEcD is here with great news.

In FY16, we created 25,341 new jobs, had an overall investment of $4.4 billion and we were named the No. 1 state in the nation in which to do business for the fourth year in a row – a huge win for the state of Georgia.

Now that we have entered 2017, the Global Commerce team has another chance to recruit new companies to Georgia from across the globe, help existing companies expand and assist small businesses as they grow to meet the needs of their customers. So far, we are off to a fantastic start.

In setting the tone for our year, since January 1 our Global Commerce team has announced the creation of 650 new jobs with a total investment of $45.7 million. We’ve announced projects in Cook, DeKalb, Douglas and Fulton counties. Additionally, athenahealth announced plans to expand their workforce to nearly 1,000 and double its initial footprint in Ponce City Market. Great news for our state!

If the first 2 weeks of 2017 are any indication of the year ahead of us, Georgia, you are in great hands. We are working hard to make sure that Georgia remains on the mind of companies all over the world.

Here’s to 2017, may it be filled with many more jobs for Georgia.

From the Georgia Department of Economic Development