The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced today that the state’s unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in May, down slightly from a revised 3.6% in April. The rate remains seven-tenths of a percentage point lower than the national average.
“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.”
Employment increased by 4,900 jobs in May and by 14,500 over the past year, reaching an all-time high of 4,988,600 jobs statewide.
Several sectors hit record employment levels in May, including:
Financial activities: 284,400 jobs
Health care and social assistance: 619,900 jobs
Government: 723,000 jobs
The sectors with the largest job gains over the month were:
Health care and social assistance: +4,000 jobs
Administrative and support services: +2,400 jobs
Accommodation and food services: +1,900 jobs
State government: +1,200 jobs
Retail trade, durable goods manufacturing, and non-durable goods manufacturing each added about 1,000 jobs
Meanwhile, jobs declined in other services (-2,600), wholesale trade (-1,600), construction (-1,400), arts, entertainment, and recreation (-1,200), and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-900).
Over the past year, health care and social assistance saw the largest gains (+22,700), followed by state government (+4,300), private educational services (+3,500), local government (+2,700), and arts, entertainment, and recreation (+2,200). Declines were noted in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-6,400), construction (-3,500), administrative and support services (-2,900), retail trade (-2,800), and information (-2,600).
The state’s labor force decreased by 4,111 in May to 5,376,298, down nearly 30,000 over the past year. Employment dipped slightly by 1,386 in May to 5,187,272 and was down 28,111 over 12 months. The number of unemployed workers fell by 2,725 in May to 189,026, also down over the year.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 1,901 in May to 19,135, and were down 899 compared to the previous year.
Local unemployment data for Gordon County for May will be released at a later date.
