Georgia job picture ranked worse than average in 2009

By Michael E. Kanell

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia’s status as the good news economy in bad times was erased last year.

Though nowhere near the worst labor market in the nation, the state is unpleasantly high in the mix, according to rankings released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The state was tied with Mississippi for the 16th-highest jobless rate during 2009.

Georgia’s jobless rate averaged 9.6 percent last year, up 55 percent from the year before, the BLS reported.

Worse, the labor market in Georgia continued to worsen as the calendar turned the page: In January, the unemployment rate hit a record 10.4 percent, according to a separate announcement Wednesday from the Georgia Department of Labor.

During most recessions of the past six decades, Georgia’s economy felt less severe pain, often slipping later and emerging sooner than the rest of the nation.

Not so this time.

Georgia started losing jobs as the national economy contracted and has suffered proportionally more damage. The state had enjoyed a faster-than-average surge in housing, and when the housing bubble burst Georgia lost tens of thousands of real estate-related jobs.

The state’s success at trade -- especially through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the Port of Savannah -- also linked Georgia to larger trends. When the national and global economies stalled, so did many manufacturers and related businesses.

During 2009, the increase in Georgia’s jobless rate -- 3.4 percentage points -- put the state in slightly worse than average terrain. The increase was a larger rise than in 31 other states, but not as bad as 18 others.

Easily the worst labor picture during the year was in Michigan. The state’s jobless rate deteriorated by 5.3 percentage points to average 13.6 percent joblessness for 2009.

Nevada came in second in that dubious category, a 5.1 point rise to average 11.8 percent unemployment.