Georgia job growth in July
Jobs added or lost
2007: -2,000
2008: -14,300
2009: -20,100
2010: 3,400
2011: 6,500
2012: -5,200
2013: 7,000
2014: 17,300
2015: 5,800
2016: 2,300
Sources: Georgia Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Georgia unemployment rate, July
Percent of labor force looking for work
2007: 4.6
2008: 6.3
2009: 10.3
2010: 10.2
2011: 10.1
2012: 8.9
2013: 8.0
2014: 7.1
2015: 5.7
2016: 5.0
Sources: Georgia Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Georgia’s unemployment rate edged down to 5.0 percent in July from 5.1 percent in June, the state Labor Department said Thursday.
The economy added a modest 2,300 jobs during the month, about one-third the level of July in the previous three years and the weakest month since January. But even with the deceleration, the economy has added about 60,000 jobs since the start of the year, roughly the same growth as in the same period a year before.
The formula for improvement has been straight-forward, Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said: “The unemployment rate dropped as Georgia employers hired more people and created more jobs.”
The rate is down from 5.7 percent a year ago – and from double-digits five years ago.
Yet the progress is somewhat uneven, and the echoes of the Great Recession continue to resound in the economy.
The number of layoffs was up, as measured by a 30 percent jump in the number of first-time claims for unemployment insurance during July. And the number of people who were employed grew faster than the number of jobs – an indication many Georgians are working more than one job to make ends meet.
While the number of unemployed Georgians fell to 242,900 – the lowest level since the fall of 2007 – that doesn’t count anyone not actively looking for work. The labor force – those working or looking for jobs – is still lower than it was eight years ago.
Many people who have dropped out of the labor force have retired, although the overall percentage of older people working has increased. And if older workers lose jobs, they tend to have a harder time than younger people finding another.
Many job-seekers simply got discouraged: more than one-third of those who are unemployed have been searching for work for at least six months.
While that figure for long-term unemployed has dropped from post-recession peaks, it’s still higher than it ever was before the downturn.
Still, progress has been steady: Georgia has 116,200 more jobs now than in July of last year.
Job losses in July came where you’d expect in mid-summer. Local government lost jobs, mostly in schools that were on summer break. With fewer conventions around and many people on vacation, leisure and hospitality also shed positions.
Sectors adding employees in July included health care and social assistance – long a mainstay of the job growth in metro Atlanta, which accounts for more than half of Georgia’s labor force. Adding to that was growth in another core Atlanta strength, the sector that includes airlines, warehousing and logistics work.
Some of the most robust hiring is being done in call centers.
For example, Hire Dynamics, a Duluth-based staffing company, plans to place 1,000 people in a Chime Solutions call center in the Southlake Mall. Chime, which is also based in Morrow, offers its services to a range of companies.
Despite the low unemployment rate, it will not be hard to find qualified applicants for the Chime jobs, said Larry Feinstein, CEO of Hire Dynamics.
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