Economic Structure and Shifts in Savannah:
From its Colonial area, Savannah has been an agricultural experiment based on Cotton Production. The economy was primarily based on the cotton industry and the export- import business of the port. Savannah’s cotton industry and the port dominated the south-eastern region of the nation in the eighteenth century. The city grew and stretched itself based on these two factors in early days. The biggest shift in the economic structure of Savannah came with the decline of the slavery in the United States. It caused downfall of the cotton industry changing the fiscal composition of its economic structure. However, Savannah port has been a constant source of fiscal influx for the city. Although, it primarily serves as an entrance point for the mid-eastern region of the country, the port helps generate industry and commerce around it. The twentieth century Savannah observed a new emerging trend in the historic preservation which incepted the foundation to develop an economy based on tourism. Tourism is the biggest economic generator of modern Savannah, serving thousands of jobs based on it. Parallel to the port and tourism industry, the city is also experiencing a change with the advent of manufacturing and the service industry. Relying primarily on the port and the international airport, Savannah has the geographic advantage to attract businesses into its region. Accommodating significant amount of Fortune five hundred companies in its metropolitan region, Savannah today experiences a multi-tier economic structure.
Today, the majority of Savannah’s economy depends on Tourism, Manufacturing, Port, Military and Service based jobs. The United States Census Data for the year 2000 and 2010 gives a fairly clear idea about the composition of different occupations and its change over a recent decade. The biggest shift can be observed in the Service Occupations which grew by 53% (as per US Census 2000 and 2010) in ten years. On the other hand major decline can be observed in the production and construction industry where significant amount of jobs reduced from 2000 to 2010. The census data industries also portray similar story for industries in Savannah. Construction and manufacturing industries observed a huge decline in the past years. In contrast, industries based on tourism like art, entertainment, recreation, public administration, accommodation and food services have significantly increased in size. The scenario clearly demonstrates the change in economic character of the city and the future trends likely to be observed in near future. Looking into the composition of the household income structure for the decade, a clear shift can be observed in the economic class of the society. From 2000 to 2010, the number of households with median income of $50,000 and above have increased, however, lower and middle income household numbers have significantly decreased. This could imply the economic prosperity of the city with its growth in service sectors. However, this also can be computed into the fact that the city is increasingly becoming the residence of high income groups. Lower and middle income groups, perhaps are moving out of the city due to decline of construction and manufacturing industries which primarily support low and medium income households. This issue can also be supported with the fact, that the Census data also shows a rise in unemployment for past few years. The spatial distribution of economic sectors show a distinguished pattern that can be observed through-out the city. Jobs and industries based on service, manufacturing and retail is well distributed across the city. Manufacturing jobs are concentrated in old industrial towns and in the vicinity of the port. Moreover, a better concentration of service jobs can be seen in the historic downtown region of Savannah.
Today, the majority of Savannah’s economy depends on Tourism, Manufacturing, Port, Military and Service based jobs. The United States Census Data for the year 2000 and 2010 gives a fairly clear idea about the composition of different occupations and its change over a recent decade. The biggest shift can be observed in the Service Occupations which grew by 53% (as per US Census 2000 and 2010) in ten years. On the other hand major decline can be observed in the production and construction industry where significant amount of jobs reduced from 2000 to 2010. The census data industries also portray similar story for industries in Savannah. Construction and manufacturing industries observed a huge decline in the past years. In contrast, industries based on tourism like art, entertainment, recreation, public administration, accommodation and food services have significantly increased in size. The scenario clearly demonstrates the change in economic character of the city and the future trends likely to be observed in near future. Looking into the composition of the household income structure for the decade, a clear shift can be observed in the economic class of the society. From 2000 to 2010, the number of households with median income of $50,000 and above have increased, however, lower and middle income household numbers have significantly decreased. This could imply the economic prosperity of the city with its growth in service sectors. However, this also can be computed into the fact that the city is increasingly becoming the residence of high income groups. Lower and middle income groups, perhaps are moving out of the city due to decline of construction and manufacturing industries which primarily support low and medium income households. This issue can also be supported with the fact, that the Census data also shows a rise in unemployment for past few years. The spatial distribution of economic sectors show a distinguished pattern that can be observed through-out the city. Jobs and industries based on service, manufacturing and retail is well distributed across the city. Manufacturing jobs are concentrated in old industrial towns and in the vicinity of the port. Moreover, a better concentration of service jobs can be seen in the historic downtown region of Savannah.