Over the last decade, Georgia’s unemployment rate has risen or stayed level between April and May.
April… May
2005… 5.3… 5.3
2006… 4.7… 4.8
2007… 4. …4.5
2008… 5.5… 5.8
2009… 9.4… 9.7
2010…. 10…. 10
2011… 9.8…. 9.9
2012… 9.1…. 9.1
2013… 8.3…. 8.4
2014… 6.9…. 7.2
Source: Georgia Department of Labor.
It’s unusual to tout a rise in the unemployment rate as good news, but economists and labor officials Thursday praised Georgia’s uptick in joblessness last month to 7.2 percent.
In April, the statewide rate stood at a revised 6.9 percent.
Newly minted college and high-school graduates flood the job market each May filling up the labor pool, competing for jobs and raising the unemployment rate. Georgia labor commissioner Mark Butler noted that the jobless rate hasn’t dropped for the month of May since 1999.
“This is a seasonal rate increase that is typical for May,” he said.
A deeper dive turned up other positive nuggets. Employers added 21,400 jobs in May — one-fourth of all jobs created during the last year. Initial claims for unemployment insurance continue to drop, the labor department said. And the labor force — those with a job and those looking for one — continued to climb, a sign Georgians are more confident about the economy.
University of Georgia economist Jeff Humphreys expects Georgia to recoup all jobs lost during the Great Recession within a year. Metro Atlanta should be back to pre-recession levels this fall.
“It’s a pretty exciting jobs report,” Humphreys said. “Newly minted grads are walking into the best labor market in the seven years since the Great Recession started. That dramatically improves their prospects of landing a job without a long delay.”
Alecia Brown graduated from Kennesaw State University in May with a degree in English. She’s pounding the Internet pavement and networking with hopes of landing an entry-level job at HarperCollins, Random House or another publisher.
“I believe I will land a job,” said Brown, 22, working through July at her alma mater’s communications office. “I just need an opportunity to get my foot in the door. I’m not that discouraged.”
The book and e-book publishing industry, though, continues to hemorrhage jobs. A decade ago, 83,800 publishing jobs nationwide existed mostly in New York City, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Today, about 68,000 remain.
“If you keep your options open, and if you’re open to traveling, I’m sure a job will come available,” said Brown, who’s also considering marketing and public relations work. “It’s pretty difficult, though, if you’re limited to a single industry.”
Humphreys, the economist, said jobs are being added across Georgia.
“Within the private sector, in all industries, there’s a very broad-based economic recovery, but prospects are best for graduates in the professional and business services category,” he said. “Geographically, if you’re in Georgia, you want to focus on Atlanta or Gainesville and probably not Warner Robins or Brunswick.”
Atlanta tallied three-fourths of the 80,000 jobs created statewide during the last year, according to the labor department. Gainesville added 2,000 jobs. Warner Robins lost 1,500 jobs. Brunswick lost 800.
A year ago, the state’s unemployment rate was 8.4 percent. But hiring in business services (10,400 jobs added the last year), leisure and hospitality (6,400), transportation and warehousing (3,880) and financial services (1,800) has fueled the employment surge.
“About the beginning of the year, people decided the prospects of landing a job were good so it made sense to get back in the game,” Humphreys said. “That’s really good news and a very strong indicator of the confidence of Georgians and the sustainability of this economic recovery.”
Business confidence too is improving, as employers fired fewer workers. Claims for first-time unemployment insurance in May dropped 29 percent versus May 2013. Fewer factory, construction and fast-food workers are being laid off.
Brown, who lives with her parents in Gwinnett County and carries $27,000 in college debt, expects the economy to keep improving.
“My father was out of work for five years and, at the beginning of the year, he actually got a job,” she said. “So I’d say the economy has improved a little bit.”
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