The state’s economy in December finished the year with strong job growth, but also showed some signs of fatigue as cuts mounted among tech companies and workers left the labor force.
The Georgia unemployment rate held steady at a historically low 3% in December as the state added 5,900 jobs during the month, including healthy hiring in manufacturing, hospitality, white-collar office positions and health care, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.
Despite spikes of inflation through the year and attempts of the Federal Reserve to slow the economy with higher interest rates, Georgia’s payrolls grew by 165,300 jobs during 2022, with strong hiring in manufacturing, hospitality, professional services and healthcare.
“As we begin our new administration, I am excited to see growth in nearly all sectors,” said Bruce Thompson, who recently took office after being elected Labor Commissioner in November.
Nearly, but not all: Tech companies have been cutting jobs.
In metro Atlanta, companies slashing positions include Greenlight Financial, Amazon and Salesforce. Microsoft this week announced it will lay off about 5% of its employees, but did not say where the cuts would be.
The number of officially unemployed Georgians barely ticked up in December, but tech workers often have severance packages and do not count as unemployed until that money runs out.
Many economists are convinced that the Fed’s determination to slow the economy will provoke a recession this year. And despite Georgia’s strong growth, there are hints that the robust post-pandemic recovery could be losing momentum.
The number of people in the Georgia labor force — that is, either working or looking for work — has fallen, dropping by about 32,000 during the past six months, including a 5,000 dip in December, according to the Department of Labor.
That leaves the share of working-age Georgians who are in the labor force lower than its pre-pandemic level, a decline that could have a variety of causes.
Many economists recently have said the biggest single reason for a shrinking labor force is the wave of retirements by boomers. But there are other reasons: People drop out of the workforce to take care of children or sick family members or to return to school. And they drop out because of illness — like COVID, or its lingering effects.
And when hiring is anemic, many people stop looking for work.
That doesn’t seem to be the problem yet, since employer demand seems to be solid: More than 100,000 positions are listed on the state’s job site, according to the Department of Labor.
Yet that demand is not spread evenly.
Companies like Wellstar Health System, Home Depot, Piedmont Healthcare, Walmart and Pizza Hut have hundreds of openings, the department said. In recent weeks, Qcells announced plans to expand its solar module-making operations, adding 2,500 jobs in northwest Georgia. Renewal by Andersen said it will create 900 new jobs in Henry County.
Meanwhile, the big tech companies cut.
Yet small companies historically account for much of job growth, and a record number of new businesses have been started in the past two years, according to a report this week from the Census Bureau.
“Every business application is really a vote of confidence in the economy,” said Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, in an online briefing this week. “Regardless of what the forecasters may say, the people out there who decided to put their own money at risk are feeling good about the direction of the economy.”
Walker Architects is not a start-up, but it has just opened a new office in Atlanta, which is a new market for the Florida-based firm. The Atlanta venture is a bet against the pessimists and a bet on continued growth, said Joe Walker, president.
Regardless of the nay-sayers, the company believes new offices and research facilities will be needed, he said. “The pandemic maybe scared some folks — you know, ‘Maybe I don’t want to be there so often’ — but the work still has to happen. What’s the new tomorrow? We can’t predict that, but it’s not going to be zero space.”
Georgia job growth, December
Average, 25 years pre-pandemic: 4,200
Average, 5 years pre-pandemic: 7,900
Recent: 5,900
Georgia job growth, by year
2012: 70,600
2013: 88,700
2014: 137,800
2015: 112,600
2016: 96,700
2017: 69,700
2018: 79,300
2019: 85,300
2020*: -183,200
2021: 204,400
2022: 165,300
*Pandemic began in March
Percentage growth in jobs
Best year, pre-pandemic: 3.4% (2014)
Worst year, pre-pandemic: -4.6% (2009)
Recent: 3.5% (2022)
Georgia job growth, December
2012: 1,700
2013: 8,200
2014: 16,300
2015: 16,800
2016: 5,700
2017: 4,300
2018: 2,100
2019: 10.600
2020: 24,100
2021: 23,300
2022: 5,900
Georgia jobs
Pre-pandemic: 4,666,400
Pandemic bottom: 4,053,000
Current: 4,840,000
Georgia unemployment rate
Pre-pandemic high: 10.9% (Nov., Dec. 2009)
Pre-pandemic low: 3.4% (Oct.-Dec., 2000)
High, pandemic: 12.3% (April 2020)
Current: 3.4% (Dec. 2022)
Sources: Georgia Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
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