Industry & Occupational Demand

Employer Intelligence

Where Georgia's employers are hiring, what skills they need, and where credential pipelines are falling short — built for workforce boards, community colleges, employers, and policymakers.

Data below is sourced from the JobsEQ® Perkins V dataset for Georgia (2025Q4), covering 10-year industry forecasts, 14 CTE career clusters, top hiring employers, in-demand skills, and skill/certification gaps.

5.32M
Total Georgia employment (2025Q4)
+8.3%
10-year statewide job growth forecast
623,737
Annual openings incl. retirements
$66,600
Statewide average annual wage
Chart 1 · Industry growth

10-Year Employment Growth Forecast by Industry Sector

All 20 major industry sectors in Georgia are forecast to expand over the next decade — none are projected to contract. Professional/Scientific/Technical Services (+13.3%), Information (+12.6%), and Construction and Healthcare (both +11.7%) lead statewide growth.

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services13.3%
Information12.6%
Construction11.7%
Health Care & Social Assistance11.7%
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation11.2%
Wholesale Trade10.0%
Mining, Quarrying & Oil/Gas Extraction10.0%
Utilities9.6%
Finance & Insurance9.2%
Other Services (except Public Admin)8.7%
Transportation & Warehousing8.6%
Accommodation & Food Services8.6%
Management of Companies & Enterprises8.5%
Real Estate & Rental and Leasing8.3%
Administrative, Support & Waste Mgmt.7.0%
Manufacturing6.1%
Public Administration4.2%
Retail Trade4.1%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting2.8%
Educational Services2.7%

Georgia's overall 10-year job growth (+8.3%) more than doubles the U.S. forecast (+3.1%).

Chart 2 · Career clusters

14 CTE Career Clusters — Employment, Wages & Annual Demand

Digital Technology leads on wages ($119,900) but Healthcare & Human Services is Georgia's largest wage-supporting demand pipeline (77,067 annual openings). Hospitality, Events & Tourism generates the single largest volume of annual openings (127,014) driven by retirement and replacement demand.

Career ClusterEmploymentAvg WageAnnual DemandAnnual Growth
Digital Technology185,615$119,90013,501+2,897
Arts, Entertainment & Design219,019$106,50019,897+2,435
Energy & Natural Resources287,178$100,50026,292+2,812
Management & Entrepreneurship726,114$96,80070,976+5,791
Public Service & Safety407,098$89,70038,528+3,069
Financial Services301,164$80,90027,214+2,121
Healthcare & Human Services738,930$77,20077,067+8,469
Education419,406$67,40042,559+2,039
Construction412,218$64,30039,458+4,372
Advanced Manufacturing373,949$62,30039,774+2,517
Agriculture105,830$58,60014,019+993
Marketing & Sales625,212$57,30081,106+2,529
Supply Chain & Transportation739,316$56,30091,378+6,582
Hospitality, Events & Tourism707,137$35,700127,014+5,568

Community colleges and workforce boards can use this cluster view to prioritize CTE program alignment.

Chart 3 · Top hiring employers

Top 15 Georgia Employers by Active Job Postings

Healthcare systems dominate Georgia's active hiring — PruittHealth, WellStar, Emory Healthcare, Northside, and Piedmont collectively post more than 25,000 living-wage openings. These employers are the natural anchor partners for CTE stakeholder engagement.

Inside Higher Ed6,727
PruittHealth6,009
WellStar Health System5,301
Emory Healthcare4,795
Northside Hospital3,884
Emory University3,415
Piedmont Healthcare3,025
Access Healthcare LLC2,881
Deloitte2,799
TLC Nursing Associates2,617
Home Depot2,558
Cox Enterprises2,462
Truist2,255
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta2,091
Walmart1,834
Chart 4 · Hard skills

Top 10 In-Demand Hard Skills

Microsoft Office (76,819) and Excel (71,627) remain the most frequently requested hard skills across Georgia's living-wage postings — ahead of CRM, SQL, and Finance. Digital productivity is now Georgia's baseline employment credential.

Microsoft Office76,819
Microsoft Excel71,627
Microsoft PowerPoint30,683
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)29,118
Microsoft Outlook25,827
Sales21,709
Ability to Lift 41–50 lbs.21,118
Presentation21,063
SQL19,817
Finance18,419
Chart 5 · Soft skills

Top 10 In-Demand Soft Skills

Communication appears in 360,038 Georgia postings and Team Collaboration in 279,134 — the two most frequently specified competencies in the state's labor market, well ahead of any single technical skill.

Communication (Verbal & Written)360,038
Cooperative / Team Player279,134
Problem Solving110,029
Adaptability / Flexibility98,839
Organization97,337
Detail Oriented91,998
Customer Service84,671
Self-Motivated / Independent81,002
Supervision / Management78,918
Interpersonal Relationships75,224
Chart 6 · Skill gaps

Top 10 Georgia Skill Gaps (Supply Shortfalls)

Manufacturing (-810), Google tools (-722), and Spanish language (-589) show the largest supply shortfalls between resumed candidates and open postings. Bilingual capacity and Python programming both round out the top gaps.

Skill / CredentialCandidatesOpeningsGap
Manufacturing6,5837,393-810
Google (platform/tools)1,9592,680-722
Spanish3,8234,411-589
Microsoft Project1,5042,062-558
Nursing1,0471,544-497
Bilingual1,4121,833-421
English2,3672,750-384
Ability to Lift 51–100 lbs.265646-382
Python3,0633,441-378
Autodesk AutoCAD1,9142,286-372
Chart 7 · Certification gaps

Top 10 Georgia Certification Gaps

Registered Nurse (RN) leads all certification shortfalls (-295), followed by NCCER Construction (-293) and CDL-A (-267). Healthcare and skilled-trades credentials dominate — a direct signal for Georgia's technical colleges and workforce training providers.

Skill / CredentialCandidatesOpeningsGap
Registered Nurse (RN)2,6032,898-295
NCCER Construction Certification46339-293
Class A Commercial Driver's License (CDL-A)1,8192,086-267
Basic Life Support (BLS)3,1103,333-223
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)2,4332,607-174
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)1,0631,200-137
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)1,9012,031-129
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)1,3671,465-98
CISSP309404-95
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)178269-91

Data sources: JobsEQ® (Chmura Economics & Analytics) — Georgia industry, occupation, career cluster, employer, skills, and certification tables (2025Q4). Employment and wage baselines from BLS QCEW, imputed by Chmura and supplemented with non-covered employment. Postsecondary data via NCES (2023–2024 academic year). Prepared by PPV Georgia.

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