Georgia employers added nearly 100,000 jobs over the past year, cutting the state’s jobless rate last month to the lowest level in nearly 18 years.
The Georgia Department of Labor said today that unemployment during November fell by a tenth of a percentage point across the state to 3.5 percent – the lowest montly jobless rate for Georgia since January 2001. Georgia’s jobless rate last month was two tenths of a percentage point below the U.S. rate of 3.7 percent.
“As we approach the end of 2018, it’s great to see so much progress,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said today in the newest jobs report. “We have much to celebrate this holiday season. We continue to not only improve but set records.”
Georgia’s labor force dipped slightly in November to end the month at 5.1 million. Even with the loss of 4,469 for the month, the labor force was still up almost 55,000 over the past year. That’s an average gain of about 4,600 every month.
Georgia added 4,500 jobs in November and 99,000 over the past year. That pushed Georgia to 4.6 million jobs, a new record. For the year, Georgia added more than 8,000 jobs a month.
“There are a number of factors, some seasonal, that make the numbers fluctuate month to month,” Butler said. “It’s more important to watch the trends for the long term to understand what’s really going on. And, the long-term trends look positive for Georgia.”
The biggest job gains in Georgia over the past year came in trade, transportation and utilities, up by 28,00; professional, business services, up 19,800 jobs; and construction, up by 18,200 jobs.
There were 73,067 statewide job postings during the month of November, down 5 percent over the month.