Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate slid to 4.9 percent at the end of last year, the lowest level since before the recession began in late 2007, the Georgia Labor Department announced Thursday.
The December number was unchanged from the revised rate for November.
“It’s very, very good progress that we’ve seen in the Atlanta over the last 12 months,” Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said. “The Atlanta area had very good job growth over the year.”
The region’s unemployment rate has dropped from a post-recession crest of 10.6 percent. A year ago, unemployment was 6.0 percent in metro Atlanta.
The report said 140,250 people in the region were officially unemployed last month – defined as out of work and actively searching for a job.
The labor force — the total number of people working and people looking for work — grew by about 20,000 during the past year – including 7,912 during December. That may mean the job market has improved enough to draw previously-discouraged workers back and that many of those people are again looking for a job.
During the year, metro Atlanta added 77,800 jobs. During the final three months of 2015, the region’s economy added more jobs than in any fourth quarter since 1997.
However, hiring tailed off in December.
A separate survey, also by the labor department, showed the metro economy shedding 3,700 jobs in December, the weakest such number for the month since 2012.
Layoffs rose, as measured by the 16,822 first-time claims for unemployment insurance.
Job losses came in government, technology and financial companies, as well as in leisure and hospitality – especially among restaurant workers, the state Labor Department reported.
Butler said some school systems and agencies had made cuts, while workers added just for the holiday season had also been let go.
Restaurant job cuts also can be holiday-centric. But consumption accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy, so it would be more troubling if those layoffs are part of a longer trend toward consumer caution.
Also a potential concern is the year’s weakness in technology jobs.
Tech is seen as a source of innovation that can provide better-than-average wages and corporate growth while driving creation of other jobs. But technology’s shrinkage in December was part of a year-long trend.
On the other hand, the improved housing market — and a slew of large construction projects — meant a 7.4 percent increase in construction jobs during the year. That sector, accounting for many decent-paying blue-collar jobs, was decimated during the recession and remains far short of its peak employment.
Jobs in the corporate sector also rose during the year, bolstered by company expansions and relocations.
Atlanta accounted for 85 percent of the state’s job growth last year. The next biggest gainers were Savannah, which added 6,900 jobs, and Augusta, which grew by 3,200 jobs.
The worst labor markets were the metro areas of Warner Robins and Albany, both of which shed 1,100 jobs during 2015, according to the Labor Department.
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