The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced on Thursday that Georgia’s May unemployment rate was 3.5%, down one-tenth from a revised 3.6% in April. The unemployment rate was seven-tenths lower than the national unemployment rate.
"Month after month, Georgia shows what’s possible when job creation and economic opportunity are a top priority," said Georgia Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes. "With unemployment falling to 3.5%—after holding steady at 3.6% for nearly a year—and recent job growth, we’re proving once again that Georgia’s business-friendly environment and competitive workforce deliver results. More than 5 million Georgians are working today because we never stop fighting for policies that put Georgia first."
Jobs increased by 4,900 over the month and by 14,500 over the year to an all-time high of 4,988,600. Three sectors reached record employment in May: financial activities at 284,400; health care and social assistance at 619,900; and government at 723,000.
The sectors with the most job gains in the past month included health care and social assistance, 4,000; administrative and support services, 2,400; accommodation and food services, 1,900; state government, 1,200; retail trade, 1,000; durable goods manufacturing, 1,000; and non-durable goods manufacturing, 1,000.
Jobs declined over the month in other services, 2,600; wholesale trade, 1,600; construction, 1,400; arts, entertainment, and recreation, 1,200; and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 900.
The sectors with the most job gains in the past year are health care and social assistance, 22,700; state government, 4,300; private educational services, 3,500; local government, 2,700; arts, entertainment, and recreation, 2,200.
Jobs declined over the year in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 6,400; construction, 3,500; administrative and support services, 2,900; retail trade, 2,800; and information, 2,600.
Georgia’s labor force declined by 4,111 to 5,376,298 in May and was down 29,828 over the past year.
Employment fell by 1,386 to 5,187,272 and declined by 28,111 over the past 12 months.
Unemployment fell by 2,725 to 189,026 and was down by 1,717 over the past 12 months.
Initial claims were down by 1,901 over the month to 19,135 in May and were down by 899 over the year.