About CSRA Business Weather
A weather report for the Augusta-area economy
CSRA Business Weather turns public data on hiring, investment and layoffs into something you can read in a few seconds: a barometer with a weather-style forecast. If you run a business, hire people, or are deciding where to start or expand one, it answers a plain question: are conditions around here getting easier or harder for employers?
The area covered is the Augusta metro: five Georgia and two South Carolina counties, often called the CSRA.
How to read this page
- The barometer is the dial near the top. It runs from Stormy to Clear. Fair means conditions are steady and favorable. The number in inches of mercury is just the weather-style scale for the same score.
- The forecast says where we expect the zone to be in 30 and 90 days, with the evidence behind each call and the changes that would move it. It is a reasoned outlook from public data, not a guarantee.
- The instrument panel shows the six readings behind the dial, each with its source and date. Click through to the data on the main page or the Sources page to check any number.
How the needle is set
The score is a weighted average of three readings, so no single number can swing it alone:
- Labor tightness (35 percent): the Augusta metro unemployment rate. A rate of 6.0 percent scores 0, and 3.0 percent scores 100, in a straight line between.
- Investment pipeline (35 percent): jobs announced at projects in the region. One thousand announced jobs scores 50, and 2,000 or more scores 100.
- Layoff pressure (30 percent): workers on recent WARN layoff notices as a share of the labor force. Fewer is better.
Once enough employers have answered the Hiring Intentions Survey, its results can be added as a fourth reading at 25 percent, with the other weights scaled down to match. The full scoring rules are printed on the main page so anyone can check the math.
Who publishes it, and our independence promise
CSRA Business Weather is published by Peak Employment Solutions of Augusta, Georgia, and sponsored by Peak Augusta. Peak is a staffing and workforce company, so you should know where we stand: we have an interest in a healthy local labor market. That is why the rules below are fixed.
- Every figure comes from a public source, shown with its date. We do not use any company’s private or client data.
- Sponsors never see or influence the readings, the forecast or the wire. Sponsored placements are always labeled “Sponsored” or “Presented by.”
- The Hiring Intentions Survey is neutral research. We publish only combined results, and only once enough employers have responded.
- If we get something wrong, we correct it and say so.
Contact, tips and corrections
Found a number that looks wrong, have local business news we should know about, or want to suggest a resource? Email mike@peaktcs.com. For a correction, include the page and the figure, and the source you are comparing it with. We read every message.
Interested in sponsoring or partnering? See Partner with us. Want the numbers on your own site? See Embed the barometer.
CSRA Business Weather provides general information from public sources and is not advice for any single business. See the Disclaimer.