463,883 Georgians unemployed in May

The news Thursday from the state Labor Department was sobering: Georgia’s unemployment rate in May surged half a percentage point to 9.7 percent, the highest since the data was standardized in the early 1970s. Some more grim numbers to consider:

• Last month, an estimated 463,883 unemployed Georgians were looking for work, an increase of 62 percent from May 2008, the Labor Department said.

• They search in a shrinking job market: The state has lost 211,000 jobs during the past 12 months — more than one in every 20. The worst damage has come in a few key sectors: manufacturing, construction, real estate.

• The result: Job seekers outnumber openings roughly 5-to-1.

What’s ahead?

Many economists expect a turnaround to begin later this year. But if previous recessions are any guide, the jobless rate will continue rising at least until the economy starts growing — and possibly for months after.

That probably means double-digit unemployment. Soon.

Hope cannot depend on housing, as it used to, at least for a while. A boom in manufacturing may have to wait until economies overseas recover enough to buy Georgia goods.

Instead, growth might have to come from new businesses, from federal stimulus spending and from the broader economy’s slow recuperation.

— Michael E. Kanell