Georgia jobless rate steady at 6.3 percent

Unemployment tile
Unemployment tile
photo Unemployment tile

The unemployment rate in Georgia was unchanged at 6.3 percent last month, matching its lowest level since July 2008. The rate was 7.3 percent a year ago.

"While the rate held steady in March, we have seen considerable improvement since it began a steady decline from November 2010, when it was 10.5 percent," Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement today. "In fact, the jobless rate has either declined or remained steady every month since then."

The Georgia Department of Labor said today that the number of seasonally-adjusted jobs declined by 6,600, or 0.2 percent, to 4,239,500 in March, down from 4,246,100 in February. Most of the job losses came in accommodations and food services, 4,000; construction, 3,500; and nondurable manufacturing, including textiles, 2,300. Those losses were offset somewhat by gains in health care and social assistance, 2,600; retail trade, 2,200; and finance and insurance, 1,800.

"Despite a small job loss in March, our over-the-year numbers still look very good," Butler continued. "Our employers added 127,100 jobs, which is the strongest Marchto-March growth we've seen since 2000. That's a growth rate of 3.1 percent, which is much stronger than the 2.3 percent national growth rate."

Georgia's jobless rate in March remained eight-tenths of a percentage point above the U.S. rate of 5.5 percent.

Upcoming Events