Georgia's unemployment rate for February dropped again, this time three-tenths of a point to a level of 4.8%. Numbers from the Georgia Department of Labor showed the jobless rate has dropped 7.7% since the onset of the pandemic.
We are continuing to see a surge in employment here in Georgia," said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. "As Georgians return to the workforce and businesses continue to hire, we can look forward to steady economic growth across the state."
Butler pointed to the jobs listed online at EmployGeorgia, noting the jobs have nearly tripled since the beginning of the pandemic from the April 2020 listing of just 73,000 jobs. Of the over 218,000 jobs currently listed on EmployGeorgia, over half of them advertise annual salaries over $40,000. In many cases, employers are willing to train quality candidates and assist with the attainment of additional credentials, Butler said.
Among the data on the February report:
The number of employed Georgians was up 45,760 to reach a total of 4,899,537, and the number of employed was up by 534,000 since April.
Georgia’s labor force in February saw an increase of 33,074 to reach a total of 5,145,311. That number is also up 159,000 since the start of the pandemic in April.
Jobs in February increased by 1,700, reaching a total of 4,452,900. That number is down 213,600 compared to this same time last year.
In February, initial unemployment claims decreased by 15 percent (19,118) since January to reach 111,308. Claims were up by 396 percent (88,856) over the year.
