Despite rising interest rates, inflation and unease about the future, Georgia employers added 13,000 jobs in September, keeping the unemployment rate at an all-time low, the government reported Thursday.
As some companies bulked up early to handle holiday business, hiring for the month was stronger than usual, with expansion coming in a range of sectors, especially health care, logistics, hospitality and government, according to the state Department of Labor.
“We are continuing to see strong job creation and demand for workers in Georgia,” said Mark Butler, the state’s labor commissioner. “We are seeing some of the best economic opportunities for job seekers that we have seen in years.”
The Georgia economy often adds an outsized share of workers in the year’s final months as retailers, distributors and logistics companies staff to handle holiday commerce. That hiring has already begun. Last month’s hiring was significantly stronger than the average September expansion of 1,600 jobs.
Despite widespread concern about a recession spurring layoffs, many companies are coping with the opposite problem: a need for workers and a shortage of good candidates.
To fill slots, employers have tried several incentives.
Big Blue Marble Academy, a national chain of preschool centers, is offering a signing bonus of up to $1,000 for 31 jobs it intends to fill in eight locations in the state, according to Mary Marietta, the company’s chief human resources officer.
During the pandemic, the economy lost thousands of childcare jobs. To fill positions at Big Blue Marble Academy, the chain is paying up to $17 an hour, which would be $5-an-hour higher than the average childcare pay in Georgia a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And while wages are key, they are not the whole story.
Big Blue Marble Academy offers a variety of perks, like yoga and a 401(k) program.
Geodis, a French-based, global logistics company, is adding 185 workers at its locations in McDonough, Fairburn and Atlanta, according to a spokesperson.
The company is offering flexible schedules and the ability to pull up to half a paycheck in advance, when a worker is strapped for cash, he said.
“Of course, wages are a primary driver for getting candidates in the door, but work-life balance has worked its way toward the top of the list as a priority for potential workers,” said Chris Snaza, vice president of operations.
The company needs forklift operators, material handlers, clerks and administrators. With experience at a premium, Geodis offers training for those without it.
The state now has nearly 200,000 more jobs than just before the pandemic.
A Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta survey this week showed the region’s economy continues to grow. Though the labor market wasn’t as crimped as earlier in the year, it remains tight, officials said.
A number of sectors list more than 10,000 open jobs on the Georgia Labor Department’s web site. Most common are positions in health care, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Three individual employers list more than 1,000 openings: Wellstar Health System, Home Depot and Piedmont Healthcare.
For jobseekers, odds are as good as they’ve ever been.
The jobless rate, which counts only those looking for work, remained at 2.8% in September. The number of unemployed dipped to 148,173, the smallest number of officially jobless Georgians since early 2001. And that was a time when the labor force was nearly 20% smaller than it is now.
Economists give a mix of reasons for the apparent shortage of workers.
Some workers are taking care of children or elderly relatives who didn’t need help a few years ago. Meanwhile, a steady exodus of retiring Baby Boomers is also subtracting from the workforce. And the pandemic itself is a factor. The virus not only killed thousands of working-age people in Georgia, it left an untold number with debilitating conditions, such as “long COVID,” a lingering burden that keeps some people from working.
Meanwhile, the state’s job site has roughly 178,000 jobs listed, about 30,000 more than the official tally of jobless Georgians, with salaries ranging from $23,000 to $100,000.
The continued economic advance comes against strengthening headwinds.
In an effort to tame inflation, the Federal Reserve has been hiking short-term interest rates. Those changes ripple through the economy, making it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow money. Historically, that kind of campaign has eventually compelled both households and industry to cut back on spending, restraining inflation while tipping the economy into recession.
The Fed’s hikes are causing pain in some sectors, especially housing, where sales have slumped and builders of new homes have to factor in higher loan costs to the already rising price of materials and labor.
“Layoffs are already happening in the mortgage industry,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, during a recent conference in Atlanta.
Construction was one of the few sectors that shed jobs in Georgia last month, losing 500 positions, according to the Department of Labor.
Georgia jobs
Georgia’s pre-pandemic job changes, September
Best: added 17,600 (2016)
Worst: lost 16,000 (2008)
Average: 1,600 added
This September: added 13,000
Unemployment rate
Highest, pre-pandemic: 10.9% (Oct., Nov., 2009)
Lowest, pre-pandemic: 3.4% (Oct., Nov., Dec., 2000)
Highest, during pandemic: 12.3% (April 2020)
Recent: 2.8% (Sept. 2022)
September job snapshot
Unemployment rate, U.S.: 3.5%
Unemployment rate, Georgia: 2.8%
Jobs added, U.S.: 263,000
Jobs added, Georgia: 13,000
Growth rate, past year, U.S. 3.86%
Growth rate, past year, Georgia: 5.01%
Sources: Georgia Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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