Georgia Mountains’ Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.8 Percent in January

March 16, 2017
ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced today that the unemployment rate in the Georgia Mountains region in January was 4.8 percent, up four-tenths of a percentage point from 4.4 percent in December. In January 2016, the rate was 4.7 percent.

The rate rose as the labor force grew and the number of new layoffs increased.

The labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed, but actively looking for jobs, grew by 90 to 331,098. The number of unemployed residents rose by 1,052 to 15,743, while the number of employed residents decreased by 962 to 315,355. Over the year, the number of people in the labor force increased by 11,158, as the number of employed grew by 10,298 and the number of unemployed increased by 860.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, rose by 964, or 50.6 percent, to 2,869. Most of the increase came in manufacturing, trade, transportation and warehousing, along with administrative and support services and health care and social assistance.  However, over the year, claims were down by 412, or 12.6 percent, from 3,281 in January 2016.

Metro Gainesville and the Georgia Mountains region had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.8 percent, while the Three Rivers region had the highest at 7.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for January was 5.5 percent, unchanged from a revised 5.5 percent in December. It was 5.6 percent in January 2016.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use the GDOL’s online job listing service employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employers. In January, 2,081 new job openings in the Georgia Mountains region were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 64,018 new job openings were posted.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally-adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at dol.georgia.gov

Visit dol.georgia.gov to learn more about career opportunities, Employ Georgia and other GDOL services for job seekers and employers and to connect with us on social media.

DATA FOR THE METRO AREAS ARE ATTACHED, TABLES AND GRAPHS REFLECTING LABOR MARKET DATA ARE AVAILABLE AT http://dol.georgia.gov/current-labor-force-data-and-graphs

NEWS MEDIA NEEDING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY CALL (404) 232-3685