METRO JOB GROWTH
Six months ended in May:
2006 — 15,000
2007 — 2,400
2008 — (22,500)
2009 — (96,200)
2010 — 10,300
2011 — 17,500
2012 — 19,000
2013 — 13,500
2014 — 34,500
2015 — 19.800
2016 — 18,100
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Georgia Department of Labor
The metro Atlanta unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 percent in May, as solid job growth soaked up most people entering the labor force in search of work, the state Labor Department reported Thursday.
The drop, from 4.8 percent in April, pushed the metro rate to its lowest point since November 2007 and below the national rate for the first time since September of the same year.
The decline also was notable because metro Atlanta’s jobless rate typically rises in May. The last time it dropped was 2002.
Metro employers added 16,800 jobs in May, the report said, and 76,600 for the 12-month period ended in the month.
Job growth was slightly weaker than in April, but better than average for May.
The metro report contrasted with recent reports for both the nation and Georgia, which showed a sharp fall-off in job growth for May, fueling concern about a broader downturn.
Metro data is calculated a little differently; unlike national and state data it isn’t adjusted for seasonal factors. That can make it rosier.
If the May data for the metro area were adjusted to account for season patterns, the new jobs figure would be lower and the jobless rate for Atlanta would be 4.7 percent, said Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University.
The past six months were not as strong as they were a year ago, he said.
That might be because “a huge burst of activity, tied to construction of buildings and apartments, in late 2014 and early 2015” has eased a bit, he said.
“Doesn’t mean any imminent danger but just that temperance is the new norm,” Dhawan said.
Some skills are in demand, if not plain scarce, said Mike Bartlett, executive vice president of J.E. Dunn Construction Co.
Retirement of older workers combined with a short supply of young workers with technical skills like electrical work and plumbing has some companies scrambling to get work done, he said.
“There’s not enough of that skilled labor. That is just where the shortage is.”
Dunn subcontracts much of its work but has about 85 direct employees in Atlanta, he said. “We are taking applications and interviewing people all the time.”
Unlike the national rate drop in May, metro Atlanta’s appeared to be the result of growth, not an apparent exodus from the labor market as discouraged people stopped looking for work.
The metro labor force — those with jobs or actively seeking them — grew by more than 13,000, and hiring snapped up most of the jobseekers. Over the past year, the region’s labor force has grown by more than 60,000 people.
“That’s the most important thing we are seeing right now,” said Mark Butler, state labor commissioner.
Yet after five years of expansion there are still 131,515 people officially unemployed in metro Atlanta, many of them frustrated to hear how good the job market is. Many say they have been hunting for months or even years.
Some work part-time – walking dogs, consulting or driving for Uber and Lyft – in jobs that don’t come close to replacing their full-time paychecks.
FrontDoor Communities, a homebuilder, may illustrate something of a misconnection in the job market that has employers competing for some workers while others struggle to find a regular paycheck.
FrontDoor, which expects to close on nearly 90 homes in metro Atlanta this year, is hustling to keep up with demand for homes and renovations, said Mike Langella, president.
“We are actually looking for folks, mostly construction personnel, folks with homebuilding experience.”
The company has about 65 direct employees, up from 50 last year. But many jobseekers are young and inexperienced. Others are long-time office workers. They are unlikely to be hired to meet current construction demand, Langella said.
Instead, the demand produces a churn among companies, he said.
“At our size we can’t afford to hire inexperienced personnel. Ideally, I’d hire somebody working for somebody else right now.”
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