Metro Atlanta’s jobless rate dipped below 8 percent for the first time in more than four years in March, as the region’s economic recovery outpaced the nation’s in recent months.
The metro rate once was more than 1 full point above the national average. With the March report the gap shrunk to just 0.3 points.
The March rate of 7.9 percent was down from 8.3 percent in February, according to the state labor department, and well off the peak of 10.7 percent in early 2009.
“Atlanta’s economy has been growing faster than the nation’s – what we used to think was normal,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wells Fargo.
That reflects a continued influx of people, especially young, ambitious, educated workers, as well as the strength of the technology sector. A nascent recovery in housing - traditionally a heavy driver of the metro economy - also could be reflected in the trend.
But unemployment remains well above what is considered normal - Vitner pegs that at 5.5 percent - and the job market is spotty. More than 200,000 people are searching for work in the area, many of them unemployed for years.
Monique Constance of Smyrna, for instance, saw a lot of job listings in a year and a half of searching. A graduate of the University of Georgia, Constance, 25, hoped to work at a non-profit but found herself dismissed as over-qualified for many positions and under-experienced for others.
Three weeks ago, she landed a job at a technology staffing firm in Dunwoody.
“I definitely got discouraged,” she said. “It’s not necessarily where thought I would be. But it’s something I think I could grow in.”
The recent improvement reflects a rising readiness to hire, however modestly, along with decreased layoffs, said Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. Discouraged jobseekers giving up and leaving the job market can also contribute since they aren’t counted.
Since March of last year, the metro area added 55,200 jobs – a number dampened by cuts in state and local government payrolls. Butler said most of the growth was in professional and business services, administrative and support services, leisure and hospitality, as well as trade, transportation and warehousing.
Emily Carlson, vice president of Randstad USA, said the staffing company has seen a steady increase in demand for workers in metro Atlanta.
“It’s really across the board,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it’s booming, but it’s progressing and improving.”
Companies that a few years ago would prefer temporary contract workers are now more likely to make a commitment, she said.
The technology sectors – pounded during the 2001 recession – have been more resilient this time.
For instance, Orasi Software, an 11-year-old, Kennesaw-based tester of corporate software, expects to add more employees later this year, said Bill Hayden, vice president.
“We are definitely seeing an uptick in business. I’ll tell you one indication – I am starting to see more and more competition from other companies.”
Orasi, which has nearly 300 employees, will recruit on campuses and through a high-intensity technology boot camp it runs, he said.
Infosys, a multibillion dollar consulting and technology company, plans to add several hundred employees with a range of skills to its 300-person workforce in metro Atlanta, said Sandeep Dadlani, vice president. So far, the consulting and technology company thinks it can find those people here, he said.
While the company sees growth for itself, “We find the business environment to be volatile,” Dadlani said. “Only businesses that can adapt to volatility can ride this out.”
Uncertainty stems from various factors such as the effect of federal sequestration, European financial turmoil, questions about Chinese growth and American political disfunction.
Housing played a huge - some say too huge - role in metro Atlanta’s pre-recession economy. Its direction now is improving but uncertain.
While sales and prices have shown signs of recovery for several months, new construction is still rare. Delinquencies and foreclosures are down, but still historically high. That means few new jobs in construction or real estate services.
“Housing seems to be regaining momentum, but the housing bust is still a weight on Atlanta,” Vitner said.
Atlanta’s jobless rate has been below the state’s average in nine of the last 12 months. In March only the Athens and Gainesville areas had lower rates.
