Georgia's unemployment rate for July remained unchanged from June, according to a Thursday report from the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL).
State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the jobless rate held steady at 7.6%; this time last year, the rate was 3.4%.
Even with that news, Butler said there were some positive signs in the monthly report.
"Although the unemployment rate remained steady in July, it is promising to see positive growth in critical indicators like employment and jobs,” said Butler. “While we are still focused on helping Georgians who are unemployed due to the pandemic, at the same time we have started to pivot to help Georgia’s businesses fill the tens of thousands of jobs as we continue to reopen and put Georgians back to work.”
Jobs in Georgia were up by 43,800 over the month, reaching a total of 4,415,200. They were down 190,100 over the year.
Unemployment claims showed a decrease of 117,770 claims - or 19% - in July to reach a total of 490,081 claims. They were up by 462,238 claims - or 1,660% - from July 2019.
July showed an increase of 55,466 employed residents over the month, bringing the total to 4,611,315. This number has decreased by 318,574 over the year.
Georgia’s labor force was up by 60,139 to reach a total of 4,989,430. The labor force was down 114,777 when compared to this same time last year.
Employ Georgia posted more than 98,101 statewide job listings during the month of July.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2020/8/930747/gdol-no-change-in-georgia-jobless-rate-for-july