The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in July dropped to 5 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 5.1 percent in June. The rate in July 2015 was 5.7 percent.
“The unemployment rate dropped as Georgia employers hired more people and created more jobs,” said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.
“Many employers are turning to Employ Georgia, our online recruiting service to post their new job openings and recruit employees.”
The number of employed Georgians grew by 19,242 to 4,639,363. At the same time, the number of unemployed residents fell by 6,209 to 242,893, its lowest level since October 2007. The labor force, which consists of employed people and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, grew by 13,033 to 4,882,256 in July. It has grown by 97,833 since the beginning of this year.
The number of jobs increased by 2,300, or 0.1 percent, to 4,386,400. Most of the gains came in health care and social assistance, 4,500, along with manufacturing and trade, transportation and warehousing, 2,500 each. The job gains were offset somewhat by a loss of 1,900 in local government, mostly in the local public schools which were on summer break. Other job losses came in professional and business services, 1,300; leisure and hospitality, 1,200; other services, 1,000; information services, 900; and financial activities, 800.
Georgia’s over-the-year job growth remained strong as the state gained 116,200 jobs, a 2.7 percent growth rate, up from 4,270,200 in July 2015. The national job growth rate was 1.7 percent. Most of the job gains in the state came in professional and business services, 32,200; trade, transportation and warehousing, 24,800; leisure and hospitality, 19,800; education and health services, 15,800; construction, 12,400; manufacturing 8,600; government, 4,700; and financial activities, 4,500. Information services lost 5,900 jobs.
The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance increased by 8,344, or 30.6 percent, to 35,639 in July. Most of the increase came in manufacturing and administrative and support services, which includes temporary staffing agencies. Thirty-eight percent of the claims filed were due to temporary layoffs. And, over the year, claims were up slightly by 152, or 0.4 percent, from 35,487 in July 2015.
In July, 69,064 jobs throughout the state were posted on Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service atwww.employgeorgia.com. The leading sectors for job postings were health care and social assistance, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, professional, scientific, and technical services, and accommodations and food services.