ATLANTA - Unemployment rates are down in all but one northeast Georgia county this month.
The rate for Lumpkin County remains the same - 2.4 percent.
But everywhere else, the rates are down - anywhere from point-one percent in Hall, White, and Dawson counties, to point-six percent in Stephens.
The new Hall County rate is 2.7 percent.
The overall rate for the region is 2.7 percent, a decline of two-tenths
percent from 2.9 percent a month ago.
During the same one-month period, the number
of employed residents of the area increased by 1,619, or seven-tenths percent.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Georgia for March was 3.6 percent, a decline of
two-tenths percent from 3.8 percent in February. During the same one-month period,
the number of jobs in Georgia increased by 14,300, or four-tenths percent.
"We're glad to see the unemployment rate remain below the four percent mark,"
said State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, "and, for the first time in quite
awhile, we saw some new jobs created. We're hopeful that these newly created jobs
are a precursor of things to come. However, the pace of job creation remains slow,
at less that one-half of one percent over the last 12 months. A slow job market is
vulnerable to negative economic forces that might arise and stall the recovery.
"An additional concern is that we have many long-term unemployed workers who have
exhausted their unemployment insurance benefits without finding replacement jobs,"
Thurmond continued, "while others have become discouraged and dropped out of the
job market altogether. Real improvement for these workers can only come with
significant job creation."
County-by-county jobless rates for the 13-county Georgia Mountains Region including, first, current rate, and, second, last month's:
Banks - 2.6, 3.1
Barrow - 3.8, 4.1
Dawson - 2.3, 2.4
Forsyth - 2.6, 2.7
Habersham - 2.3, 2.5
Hall - 2.7, 2.8
Jackson - 2.9, 3.1
Lumpkin - 2.4, 2.4
Rabun - 1.9, 2.2
Stephens - 5.5, 6.1
Towns - 2.2, 2.6
Union - 2.6, 2.8
White - 2.6, 2.7
Tuesday
May 21st, 2024
10:30AM
