Jobless claims continued to decline nationally and in Georgia as many school employees went back to work and the economy kept moving forward.
Last week, 10,783 new claims were processed in the state, down 2,623 from the previous week, according o the Georgia Department of Labor.
That is fewest claims for any week since March 14, 2020.
And while the delta variant of the coronavirus has caused a late-summer surge in hospitalizations, if that latest COVID-19 wave has slowed the economic expansion, the drag is not yet evident.
Spending in metro Atlanta last month was up compared with July 2019, before the pandemic, according to the Mastercard Spending Pulse. Spending was 10% higher on retail, 9% higher on apparel and nearly 30% higher on restaurants.
New jobless claims nationally were 375,000 last week, down from 387,000 the prior week, according to the Employment and Training Administration.
Data released last week showed a burst of hiring nationally in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Georgia’s jobs report for July will released next Thursday.
An analysis by Paychex and IHS Markit last week concluded that Georgia job growth in July was the fourth-strongest among the states and that Atlanta ranked second among metro areas.
Among companies that are hiring locally:
-- Netherlands-based Vanderlande Industries is expanding its North American headquarters in Cobb County and will add 500 new jobs, according to company and government officials Thursday. The company is filling positions in engineering, operations, supply chain, software development and sales.
-- Provista Diagnostics in Alpharetta said it is adding up to 20 employees in sales and marketing positions that pay between $60,000 and $200,000. Provista was recently acquired by Todos Medical.
-- MasterBrand Cabinets in Jackson said it has been holding in-person hiring events every Tuesday afternoon, looking mainly for night and weekend line workers who can start right away. The jobs start at $16 an hour, but include health and other benefits and higher pay for some shifts. The company offers a $1,000 bonus with weekend jobs.
-- J.M. Huber Corp. is hiring for operations in Atlanta, Commerce, Fairmount, Kennesaw and Marble Hill. Among the positions being filled are slots in engineering, finance, plant operations, project management and human resources, a spokeswoman said.
Georgia weekly jobless claims
Highest, pre-pandemic: 41,522 (Jan. 10, 2009)
Highest, during pandemic: 390,132 (April 4, 2020)
Average, year before pandemic: 5,548
Average, past four weeks: 12,195
Last week: 10,783
Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
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