Although hiring was strongest in hospitality and retail, overall seasonal hiring was somewhat weaker than usual last month as metro Atlanta added 9,100 jobs, the Department of Labor said Thursday.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.5% from 3.4% in September.
That is still below the national average, said Bruce Thompson, the state’s labor commissioner. “As job growth slows across the nation, Georgia’s resilience shines through,” HE SAID
The U.S. unemployment rate in October was 4.1%.
Metro Atlanta’s jobless rate has been lower than the national average since January 2020, when both rates were 3.6%. The last time Atlanta’s rate was higher was August 2019.
The education, health and hospitality sectors have shown the strongest growth in the past year. .
A year ago, many economists were predicting a recession as the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes made borrowing more costly for consumers and companies. Since then, growth has stubbornly persisted, but the pace has been slowing.
While there are no signs of an imminent downturn, the metro Atlanta economy has been decelerating since its rapid growth during 2021, a year when COVID-19 vaccines were distributed, federal government spending was high and the economy surged out of the pandemic. In the first 10 months of that year, metro Atlanta added 134,300 jobs.
This year, the same period has added up to just 6,600 jobs, with uneven hiring patterns and some sectors struggling.
November has recently been a month for robust hiring in metro Atlanta, averaging 24,800 jobs during the past four years. So maybe some of the spending hasn’t kicked in yet to fuel late-in-the-year growth.
Analysts and industry groups say they expect robust spending in the coming week. ICSC, which represents real estate and retail companies, said consumers will likely spend $125 billion from Thanksgiving through the following Monday, known as “Cyber Monday.”
A survey showed that two-thirds of consumers planned to complete most of their holiday shopping during those five days, the ICSC said.
The National Retail Federation predicts the most holiday spending since 2019, with up to $989 billion in retail sales.
Administrative and support services — the sector that includes many office jobs — lost 2,900 positions in October, while the film industry and manufacturing also lost jobs. There has been no flood of filings for jobless benefits — one sign of a recession — but initial claims were up 1,341 from September, the Labor Department said.
Among recent cuts, Atlanta-headquartered media company Scripps News slashed 118 jobs at its Buckhead offices, with cuts including anchors, editors and producers, according to a filing by the company with the state.
During October, nearly 114,000 people in metro Atlanta were unemployed — out of work and actively seeking a job — up by 2,444 from the month before.
The number of unemployed — and the jobless rate — would have been higher, but the number of people in the workforce shrank during the month, according to the Department of Labor. That shrinkage doesn’t happen that often during October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Metro Atlanta’s economy accounts for 62% of the jobs in Georgia, a share that has edged up over the past five years, according to the BLS. The region’s 29 counties range from 2.6% unemployment in Hall to 4.6% in Clayton.
While changes in presidential administrations do not typically mean large shifts in local economies, experts say Georgia could see an impact from the expected changes under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump’s announced plans include sweeping increases in tariffs — especially on Chinese imports — and massive deportations of undocumented persons.
Some manufacturers reportedly are stocking up on items to make those purchases before any tariffs are imposed — something a president can do by executive order. But products purchased after tariffs are in effect can be expected to cost more, even if the importer absorbs part of the costs.
The promised deportations could target workers in some low-income sectors — especially hospitality and social assistance work, such as elder care — which might create labor shortages and higher costs as employers search for workers, experts say.
Wells Fargo economists said they are expecting somewhat more inflation and slower growth next year. “By raising consumer prices, tariffs impart a modest stagflationary shock to an economy,” the company said.
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