Sandy Springs’ concentration of financial and business-service employers puts the city in focus as federal data show employment declines across the surrounding region.
Financial activities employment fell 1.7% and professional and business services declined 1.3% from August 2025 to August 2026 in the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan division, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Total nonfarm employment in that division stood at approximately 2.52 million in August, down 18,300 jobs, or 0.7%, from a year earlier. The figures cover a regional area and do not establish how many jobs were lost within Sandy Springs.
A major employment center
The city’s role as an employment destination makes regional hiring trends relevant to the GA-400 corridor and Perimeter Center.
Sandy Springs’ 2021 Transportation Master Plan cited Census estimates showing approximately 132,000 jobs in the city in 2017. About 94% were held by people who lived elsewhere. Those historical figures illustrate the city’s regional employment role, but do not measure current commuting or office attendance. City transportation plan
Adam Forrand, president and CEO of the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber, highlighted the area’s financial technology concentration in an October 2024 podcast interview, naming Global Payments and Deluxe among companies based locally. Podcast interview
The employment data do not establish whether particular Sandy Springs companies reduced staffing or whether regional losses have affected nearby shops and restaurants.
Weekly earnings rise despite job losses
Average private-sector weekly earnings across the broader Atlanta metropolitan area reached $1,339.27 in August, up from $1,244.56 a year earlier. The $94.71 increase amounted to 7.6%, according to the BLS earnings table.
That increase exceeded the 2.9% rise in Atlanta-area consumer prices over the same period. BLS inflation report
Average earnings do not track raises received by individual workers. They can change with hours worked and the mix of higher- and lower-paid jobs.
The metropolitan area is larger than the similarly named metropolitan division used for the sector figures. Across the full metro area, total nonfarm employment stood at approximately 3.105 million in August, down 0.5% from a year earlier. BLS employment table
Growth in other sectors
Not every sector contracted in the metropolitan division. Education and health services employment rose 2.2% over the year, while information employment increased 1.6%. BLS division data
Nationally, financial activities employment was down 129,000 from its May 2025 peak, with most losses occurring in insurance carriers and related activities, according to the September federal jobs report.
For Sandy Springs, the figures provide a regional backdrop for employers, workers and businesses that depend on the city’s employment centers. They do not yet provide a city-level measure of the downturn.
