The Georgia economy added a modest number of jobs last month as unemployment remained at an all-time low, the state’s Department of Labor said Thursday.
The jobless rate, which includes everyone with a job or actively seeking work, was 3.1% in February, with new entrants to the labor force balanced by hiring in a number of sectors as the economy added 2,400 jobs, officials said.
In contrast, the national unemployment rate last month was 3.9%, said Bruce Thompson, Georgia’s labor commissioner. “In Georgia, we’re not just keeping pace with the nation — we’re leading the charge.”
During the month, jobs were added in logistics, hospitality, government and construction. The number of unemployed in the state dipped to 163,539, the lowest figure since July 2022, officials said.
Georgia’s economy — like the national economy — last year defied predictions of an imminent recession, continuing to add jobs with average wages rising. But both state and nation have seen a deceleration of growth.
“The data shows the economy cooling off a lot faster than people have been thinking,” said Mark Vitner, chief economist of Piedmont Crescent Capital. “There are still a lot of good things going on, but things are cooling off.”
The state has added 48,900 jobs in the past 12 months, a 1% expansion. A year ago, Georgia was growing at a 3% pace, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Signs of the deceleration are in the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: Since the hottest hiring in the fall of 2022, job openings in Georgia have fallen 30%, while the number of people hired has dropped 16% and layoffs are up 28%.
FedEx this week confirmed that it will close a Union City facility with 326 workers because the customer being served there is moving to Jackson County. However, FedEx said in a statement that some of the Union City workers will have a chance to move to the new location. In an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, FedEx declined to name the customer.
Jobs last month were down in wholesale and retail trade, as well as some white-collar jobs sectors like administrative support and professional services, the Department of Labor said.
Moreover, the low unemployment rate can be misleading since it doesn’t count people not looking for a job, said economist Caroline Fohlin of Emory University.
The share of people in the workforce — either working or seeking jobs — has not returned to its pre-pandemic levels, which were already lower than highs of earlier in the decade, she said. “You are missing part of the story because some people are out of the labor force. It’s a problem and it’s going to have an impact on the economy.”
That is partly because women’s participation in the economy is often hampered by childcare issues, a crisis early in the pandemic that remains an issue for many families, Fohlin said.
And while wage growth has been outpacing inflation, especially among lower paid workers, that growth followed more than a year in which prices rose faster, she said. “People have a lot of catching up to do. We have seen an uptick in delinquencies, like for auto loans, and that is something we need to pay attention to.”
Yet for the moment, the overall picture remains upbeat.
Compared to pre-pandemic 2019, the state has 12.5% more job openings, 7.1% more people being hired and about the same number of layoffs as in 2019, according to the BLS survey.
Growth continues.
Kamstrup, a Danish manufacturer of cutting-edge water meter systems, has recently opened a 90-worker factory in Cumming. VyStar Credit Union has opened a branch in Smyrna. Leuze Electronics, a German-based maker of optical sensors, has moved its U.S. headquarters from Michigan to Duluth.
“We are not seeing a real slowdown,” said Ryan Earnest, president and CEO of First National Community Bank, which recently added a new branch in Dallas. “We have seen some people pull back a bit, but the economy seems to be on an upward trajectory. There’s a real resiliency in the consumer, at least in the markets we serve.”
Georgia, February unemployment rate
High pre-pandemic: 10.8% (2010)
Low pre-pandemic: 3.5% (2000)
Average, pre-pandemic: 6.1%
Year ago: 3.2% (2023)
Recent: 3.1% (2024)
Georgia, February job growth
High pre-pandemic: 16,800 (1999)
Low pre-pandemic: -28,600 (2009)
Average, pre-pandemic: 4,450
Year ago: 4,500 (2023)
Recent: 2,500 (2024)
Share of workers in labor force*
All-time high: 69.3% (Nov. 1998)
All-time low, pre-pandemic: 60.7% (Feb. 2016)
Five-year high: 64.0% (Oct. 2016)
Five years ago: 62.9% (Feb. 2019)
Year ago: 61.5% (Feb. 2023)
Recent: 61.4% (Feb. 2024)
Deceleration back toward pre-pandemic
Georgia, since job market peak, Sept. 2022
Change in job openings: down 30%
Change in hires: down 16%
Change in people quitting: down 39%
Change in layoffs: up 28%
Change in number of jobless per opening: up 50%
Georgia, compared to 2019
Change in job openings: 12.5%
Change in hires: up 7.1%
Change in people quitting: up 6.5%
Change in layoffs: 0%
Change in number of jobless per opening: down 33.3%
*Includes everyone with a job or actively seeking work
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Georgia Department of Labor, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank
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