Georgia reached new records for both its labor force and number of employed residents in August, while the state’s unemployment rate declined to its lowest level in two and a half years.
The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that the state’s labor force increased by 9,498 people during August to an all-time high of 5,490,319. The labor force has grown by 68,659 people over the past year.
Employment also reached a record, climbing by 13,013 during the month to 5,314,822. That’s an increase of 76,272 employed Georgians compared with a year ago.
At the same time, Georgia’s unemployment rate declined to 3.2%, down from 3.4% one year ago. The August rate was 0.9 percentage points below the national unemployment rate and was Georgia’s lowest since February 2024.
“Georgia’s job market is stronger than ever,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes said. “With August bringing record-breaking labor force and employment numbers alongside a two-and-a-half-year low unemployment rate of 3.2%, our state’s economy is thriving.”
The number of unemployed Georgians declined by 3,515 during August to 175,497 and was down by 7,613 compared with the same time last year.
Georgia added 8,000 jobs during August, bringing the statewide total to 4,985,700. The monthly increase followed two consecutive months of job declines. Despite the August gain, the state had 7,300 fewer jobs than it did a year earlier.
Administrative and support services and state government led monthly job growth, each adding 3,200 positions. Retail trade added 2,200 jobs, while durable goods manufacturing and health care and social assistance each added 1,300.
Several sectors lost jobs during the month. Non-durable goods manufacturing declined by 1,800 positions, private educational services by 1,400, transportation, warehousing and utilities by 1,200, information by 1,000 and wholesale trade by 600.
Over the past year, health care and social assistance recorded the largest increase with 19,100 additional jobs. Durable goods manufacturing added 4,400, local government added 4,300, administrative and support services gained 4,000 and state government added 3,400.
Meanwhile, professional and technical services recorded the largest year-over-year decline, losing 11,600 jobs. Federal government employment fell by 9,400, followed by non-durable goods manufacturing with 5,100 fewer jobs, transportation, warehousing and utilities with 5,000 fewer, and construction with 3,200 fewer.
Initial unemployment claims also declined in August, falling by 3,323 from the previous month to 16,827. Claims were down by 1,794 compared with a year ago.