Becky Gunn is the Federal Reserve’s eyes and ears on the ground in Atlanta. She’s constantly chatting up business leaders and consumers, prying intelligence out of them that is sent on to policy makers in Washington.
This puts Gunn in a unique position to witness first-hand the greatest inflation surge the U.S. has experienced in decades.
Atlanta, it turns out, is posting faster price increases than any other major metropolitan area in the country, a side effect of the economic boom it’s undergoing.
The city’s annual rate soared to 7.9% in October, well above the 6.2% nationwide average. Gunn says that her business contacts, big and small, in industries from retail to manufacturing and construction, are all seeing price gains across the board.
“Most are just saying ‘Everything is increasing,’” said Gunn, a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. “Things are increasing multiple times.”
In the October government report, there were the usual items hounding American consumers at the very top of the Atlanta region list -- rent and gasoline and vehicles -- but also recreation, clothing and school tuition.
It’s an awkward position for Atlanta, which historically has lured workers with its mix of a robust economy and low cost of living. Although the city hasn’t yet caught up to pricier metros in the Northeast and out West, it’s rapidly losing its status as a cheaper alternative.
Like many states in the South, Georgia quickly lifted activity restrictions last year after initial shutdowns, while the West and East Coasts maintained strict measures for months to protect their population from Covid-19. The diverging approach -- combined with people fleeing large cities like New York to relocate in the South -- has contributed to a pandemic-era divide among local economies.
Atlanta’s old nickname “Hotlanta,” which dates back decades, could now be used for some of its economic indicators. The city boasted an all-time low unemployment rate of 2.4% in October, among the lowest in the country.
Workers who’ve relocated from other markets during the pandemic are helping propel the economy, said C. David Moody, Jr., chief executive of C. D. Moody Construction Co. in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia. The firm has boosted its headcount to 35 recently from 25, and expects to add 15 more in the next year as it builds data centers for technology companies.