Georgia's unemployment rate edged up to 5.4 percent in December from 5.3 percent in November, the state labor department said today.
The state added 5,900 jobs during the month.
So the overall picture is mixed, but the unemployment rate is no longer the crucial metric to judge what is going on.
There is job growth along with a rising jobless rate – but the rate was going up mainly because more people are in the labor force, looking for work.
“Jobseekers continue to join the labor force amid a growing level of confidence that they’ll be able to get a job,” said Mark Butler, state labor commissioner.
Some of that growth is because people are moving to Georgia, he said.
The department said 22,420 more people came into the labor force during the month, and most of them found work. For the five previous Decembers, the average growth in the labor force was 1,523.
That means, however, that roughly 270,000 Georgians are officially unemployed.
The unemployment rate is calculated by looking at the number of people who either have jobs or are actively looking.
People who are not looking – including those who have gone back to school – are not counted as part of the labor force. That means that the jobless rate can go down when people can’t find work, get discouraged and stop looking. And the rate can go up when people who’ve been discouraged flock back from the sidelines into the hunt for a paycheck.
But during 2016, the labor force surged by about 209,000 – a sign that people who have been on the sidelines are encouraged by what they see of hiring to think it's worth another try.
Here are seven ways to sound smart in talking about Georgia’s jobless rate:
1. Now and then. Georgia unemployment rate a year ago was 5.5 percent, so on the surface, things haven't improved much. But in those 12 months, the economy has added 103,300 jobs.
2. Perspective. When things were really bad – coming out of the 2007-09 recession – the Georgia jobless rate was 10.5 percent, not even counting tens of thousands of people who dropped out of the labor force or went back to school.
Before the recession it was under 5.0 percent. And the very lowest rate on record for the state was in November of 2000: 3.4 percent.
3. Relatively speaking. Georgia's rate remains above the national rate of 4.7 percent. It has not been below the national average since 2007, which was before the economy slipped into recession.
But Georgia has been adding jobs at a faster pace than the nation has.
4. Still hurting. Despite nearly seven years of job growth, there are still 270,000 Georgians looking for work in a workforce of about 4.9 million people.
That is far lower than it was during the worst of the jobs crisis. But a historically high share of the unemployed have been looking for more than six months. And anyone not actively looking for work is not officially counted as unemployed.
5. Historically. It was just slightly weaker than an average December for job growth. During the five previous years, from November to December, the number of jobs in the state grew by an average of 6,900.
6. Sectors strong. The sectors adding the most employees were professional and business services the corporate sector, which expanded by 5,400 positions. That was followed by logistics – known as trade, transportation and warehousing – which added 3,400 jobs and government, which grew by 2,200.
7. It's a seasonal thing. Some job losses came in construction and manufacturing, which combine for a loss of 1,100 jobs, due largely to seasonal layoffs. The number of new claims for unemployment benefits was up over the month.
_____________________
2006 … Down 0.1
2007 …. Up 0.1
2008 …. Up 0.5
2009 …. No change
2010 …. No change
2011 …. Down 0.2
2012 …. No change
2013 …. No change
2014 …. Down 0.1
2015 …. No change
2016 …. Up 0.1
__________________
2006 …. 4,200
2007 ….2,100
2008 …. Down 19,900
2009 …. Down 4,600
2010 …. 2,200
2011 …. Down 900
2012 …. 3,900
2013 …. 10,300
2014 …. 15,300
2015 …. 5,900
2016 …. 5,900
________________________
2007 ….. 26,500
2008 ….. Down 140,400
2009 ….. Down 184,600
2010 ….. 30,600
2011 ….. 39,600
2012 ….. 69,100
2013 ….. 89,200
2014 ….. 137,600
2015 ….. 118,700
2016 ….. 103,300
Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
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