Attending the Georgia Economic Outlook luncheon hosted by the UGA Terry College of Business were (l-r) Sam Moore, Irene Bonertz, Wayne Bonertz, Al Bean, Adam Bohler, and Ashley Barnett. Over 1,100 executives, government leaders, and UGA alumni, including a delegation from Wilkes County, attended the Georgia Economic Ourlook luncheon in Atlanta earlier this month and heard a number of experts comment and forecast on the economic condition of the State of Georgia and the nation.

It was the 26th annual economic forecast luncheon hosted by the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business and speakers included UGA President Michael Adams, Governor Sonny Perdue, Forbes magazine publisher Steve Forbes, and Terry College Dean Robert Sumichrast.

For the state, the forecast offered a grim assessment of the Georgia economy, predicting a recession that will be "severe rather than mild and prolonged rather than short," according to Sumichrast. "I believe that the first and second quarters of 2009 will be dreadful," he said. "It will be the longest downturn since the Great Depression."

Sumichrast estimates that the economy will "bottom out" in the third quarter of 2009 and will be very slow to recover.

"Our last recession was in 2001. Georgia's gross state product will decline much more sharply in this recession than it did in 2001, but the job losses will be only moderately greater this time," Sumichrast said. "We anticipate a loss of 175,000 jobs in this recession, as compared to the loss of 150,000 jobs in the 2001 recession. The main reason job losses will not be significantly worse is that many businesses entered this recession with very lean staffing. So the job losses associated with this downturn will mostly reflect substantial declines in demand, rather than overstaffing or overdue restructuring. That contrasts sharply with the excessive spending on technology and staffing that preceded the 2001 recession."

The luncheon was held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Wilkes County's delegation included County Commission Chairman Sam Moore, Tourism Director Ashley Barnett, Al Bean, Adam Bohler, Irene Bonertz and Wayne Bonertz.