Georgia notched the nation’s highest unemployment rate for the second month in a row, a dismal ranking that further inflamed the race for governor.
The economy, with two weeks to election day, holds center stage as the two warring candidates try to one-up each other over who’d better boost employment in Georgia.
Gov. Nathan Deal has spent the year extolling a glass-half-full platform of new jobs created and lofty business rankings by national publications. Roughly 300,000 jobs have been added on the incumbent’s watch and Deal vows that his tax cuts and incentives will lure more industry and jobs.
Democrat Jason Carter, meanwhile, sees the glass as near-empty and Georgians thirsty for good-paying jobs. Federal statistics show that Georgia remains 215,000 jobs shy of pre-recession levels. And, last month, roughly 15,000 private sector jobs disappeared.
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