ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia’s jobless rate continued to fall in May, dropping closer to where it was before the pandemic sent it soaring to an all-time high.
The state’s unemployment rate was 4.1% in May, down from 4.3% in April. That’s still above the 3.6% posted in March 2020, but well below the state’s record high of 12.5% recorded in April 2020, when many businesses shut down as the coronavirus spread.
Fewer people sought jobs in May, but the number of unemployed people fell to about 212,000, because the number of people reporting they have jobs fell more slowly. The labor force remains less than 1% below where it was before the pandemic.
The news was better for employer payrolls. This separate survey, considered the top indicator by economists, saw jobs rise by about 14,000 from April to May, with Georgia payrolls nearing 4.5 million. The unemployment and payroll surveys usually move in the same direction over the long term, but can point in different directions from month to month.
Payrolls remain about 4% below their pre-pandemic levels.