Mike Carnathan: “Data for Decision-Making”

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Members at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on May 9 heard a presentation by Mark Carnathan, Manager of the Research and Analytics Division at the Atlanta Regional Commission.  He shared a wealth of information on the demographics related to Gwinnett County, past, present, and future.  Beginning with perceptions and opinions held by residents about problems, education, safety, and responsiveness of local government, he moved on to present hard data collected by the Commission on global and local trends.  He presented ten “Big Points”, which included these realities: we are in a fast-growing state and metro area; the population is growing older and more diverse; the job market is recovering but incomes are not recovering; jobs, both “new economy” and “old economy” jobs, are hot; the most educated are “winning” the future, but the middle class is not “winning.”  He focused on population growth and presented charts showing the breakdown by education, ethnicity, and age.  The future holds an increase in population and a more diverse population than in the past.

Economic Overview – Gwinnett County, GA