Unemployment fell to an all-time low in Georgia while Tennessee’s jobless rate remained among the nation’s lowest last month even while more workers joined the labor market as the economy continued to rebound from the pandemic.
The jobless rate across Georgia in May dropped to 3%, the lowest monthly rate on record as employment in the Peach State grew during the past year by 244,100 jobs to a record high of nearly 4.8 million.
Although the unemployment rate ticked up in Tennessee by a tenth of a percent last month to 3.3%, the increase stemmed entirely from the number of those entering the workforce outpacing the continued growth in jobs during May. Tennessee employers added a net 121,394 jobs during the past 12 months, boosting employment by a strong 3.8% in the past year to a record high of nearly 3.3 million.
“The employment market remains very, very strong, and the increase we saw in unemployment reflects a fairly positive trend of increased labor force participation as more people are joining the labor force,” Bill Fox, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research, said in a telephone interview Thursday.
Tennessee’s labor force participation rate, which measures the share of all adults in the labor force, surpassed 61% for the first time in more than two years.
But after two years of robust employment growth following the pandemic shutdown of the economy, the economy may have reached its zenith in adding more jobs with the Federal Reserve Board aggressively raising interest rates to curb inflation and economic growth.
“This is probably as good as it gets,” said Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for economic and market research at the University of Georgia. “I don’t expect a recession this year, but certainly the Fed’s actions to raise interest rates will slow the growth in the economy this year.”
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve voted to raise its short-term interest rates by three quarters of a percent – the biggest interest rate hike since 1994.
Jobless in May
by the numbers— 3% unemployment in Georgia, down from 3.1% in April— 3.3% unemployment in Tennessee, up from 3.2% in April— 3.6% unemployment for the U.S. as a whole, unchanged from AprilSources: Georgia Department of Labor, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
In a phone interview Thursday, Humphreys said Georgia was not hit as hard as the country as a whole by the pandemic and the state rebounded quicker than many states. Georgia’s jobless rate has remained one of the lowest among the nation’s biggest states, behind only Florida.
Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said his office continues to have more job listings than available workers.
“As the state continues to experience a very tight labor market, as evidenced by our low unemployment rate, our focus has been on encouraging more individuals to re-enter the workforce,” Butler said in a report Thursday. “Unless those who have chosen not to work decide they want to re-enter the workforce or more people move into the state, additional workers will be scarce.”
In Tennessee, the state’s career centers listed 425,531 job openings Thursday, or nearly four times as many jobs as the 104,635 Tennesseans counted as unemployed and still looking for work last month.
In Georgia, there are more than 227,000 jobs listed online at EmployGeorgia.com, resulting in a minimum of 310,000 unfilled positions. Market salaries for the jobs listed on Employ Georgia range from $24,000 to $105,000, showing a median salary of $45,000.
The tight labor market is boosting wages for workers, Fox said. Average weekly manufacturing earnings in May were up by more than 2.1% in Tennessee to $979.62. Although still 4.6% below the U.S. average, manufacturing wages in Tennessee rose to an average of $22.52 an hour last month, the highest on record.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that 3,000 fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week. But the four-week average for claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 2,750 from the previous week, to 218,500.
Though the job growth in May was healthy nationwide, it was the lowest monthly gain in a year, and there have been signs that more layoffs could be on the horizon.
Online automotive retailer Carvana said last month that it’s letting go about 2,500 workers, roughly 12% of its workforce. Online real estate broker Redfin, under pressure from a housing market that’s cooled due to higher interest rates, said Tuesday that it was laying off 8% of its workers.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340. Follow on Twitter at @dflessner1