Metro Atlanta’s jobless rate rose in May to 5.9 percent from 5.6 percent in April as a rush of jobseekers outpaced job growth.
The region added 16,000 jobs in May and 79,600 during the past 12 months, helping bring the jobless rate down from 6.9 percent in May 2014.
Yet recent progress has been bumpy and some puzzles remain, said Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University.
“Basically it’s like the stock market – some months it’s good and some months it’s not. It has not been a consistent growth story, not since the start of the year.”
Among companies doing business overseas, hiring has been buffeted by bumpy economies in Asia and Europe, as well as a stronger dollar that makes U.S. goods and services more expensive, Dhawan said.
Those factors aside, the rate typically goes up in May as school systems shed workers, mainly those in non-contract jobs. Government jobs dropped by 2,500 for the month.
The state rate also ticked up in May, to 6.3 from 6.2 percent.
One sector steadily growing in metro Atlanta is health care, which now accounts for more than 265,100 employees – more than 10 percent of the metro Atlanta workforce, according to the Department of Labor.
Piedmont Healthcare has filled 4,000 positions in metro Atlanta, including the hiring of 850 nurses, said Vicki Cansler, chief human resources officer.
“Part of the hiring is due to turnover, and partly to satisfy higher volumes,” she said.
One recent Piedmont hire is Jessica McCloud, 23, who earned an associate’s of science degree in nursing two years ago. She was working at a regional hospital and thinking about moving closer to her home in Sharpsburg. She dropped in on a job fair in late winter, made contacts and soon had an offer at Piedmont Fayette Hospital.
“It is very nice to have a job where you are wanted,” she said. “You feel like you are always going to be needed. I can work in this state or that state, this country or that country.”
The health care sector got some good news Thursday with the Supreme Court’s endorsement of federal subsidies going to 34 states – including Georgia – under the Affordable Care Act. Stability in the law and a reliable stream of funding likely bolsters health care’s financial future, at least for the near-term.
But even with the health care boost, the number of employed people in the region has only just returned to the pre-recession peak – a time when the jobless rate was below 5 percent.
There are now 166,388 people in metro Atlanta who are unemployed and looking for work. Hiring is not fast enough to shrink that pool down to pre-recession levels, which means people with good job search skills have an advantage, said Leigh Thompson, owner of Sandy Springs-based Launchgrad, a career consulting company. Those skills include old basics such as appearance and networking.
“Despite Monster.com and all the online listings, knowing someone is still the best way to get in the door,” she said.
It worked that way for Mitchell Braun, 22, of Atlanta.
Financial services has been growing modestly, adding about 5,700 jobs in the past year. Braun started sending out resumes his senior year in college but didn’t have much luck.
He focused on networking and in mid-April got a job as an analyst in a commercial real estate company.
“I saw a lot of (friends) just wait and hope somebody picks up their resume out of the pile. And I have a couple friends looking for a job still.”
The number of jobs grew 3.2 percent in the past year, said Sam Hall, Labor Department spokesman.
“Anytime you have growth rate better than 3 percent, it’s something to feel really confident about. Job growth continues to look strong.”
Layoffs — as measured by first-time claims for unemployment benefits — declined slightly from April to May. They are down 12 percent over the past year.
Among core metro counties, Cobb had the lowest jobless rate, at 5.3 percent, followed by Gwinnett at 5.4 percent, Fulton and DeKalb at 6.2 percent each, and Clayton at 7.7 percent.
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