The job news lately has been discouraging.
Not only is the economy still far from the pre-recession job levels reached in 2007, its catch-up engine is running in slow motion, if not slipping right into reverse.
State officials announced last week that the metro Atlanta jobless rate jumped to 8.9 percent in June from 8.2 percent in May, as school employees were laid off for summer and new high school and college graduates searched for work. The week before, officials reported that the state’s overall rate also rose, climbing to 8.6 percent.
Uneven pain
Among the core metro Atlanta counties, the unemployment picture varies widely.
County…..June jobless rate
Gwinnett….7.9 percent
Cobb…..8.0 percent
DeKalb…..9.3 percent
Fulton…..9.8 percent
Clayton….11.0 percent
Just a temporary setback?
Don’t be fooled by the unemployment rate – the economy is still adding jobs. It’s just doing it in an anemic way.
Metro Atlanta should add 46,300 jobs this year, with nearly all the growth coming from hiring in the private sector, according to the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State. Modest as it is, growth may be reduced by “headwinds” later in the year, economists worry.
There’s federal government “sequestration,” which will keep down hiring and spending – bad news around military bases in Georgia and elsewhere. There are continued concerns with budgets that have already meant thousands of jobs cut from public-sector payrolls – and will likely mean more.
And there is talk about the Federal Reserve backing off its low interest rate campaign to spur growth. So far, however, the Fed says the economy still needs help.
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