More people seeking a job pushes Georgia’s unemployment rate higher

A slight increase in the number of people seeking a job nudged up Georgia’s unemployment rate to 5.3 percent in November, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.

That compares to a rate of 5.2 percent in October and 5.5 percent in November a year ago.

“For the third consecutive month, strong growth in our state’s labor force caused a slight increase in our unemployment rate,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement. “However, in those same three months, we’ve seen more than 56,000 people become employed.”

The state labor force in November was 2,971,311. That’s 21,761 higher than in October. The labor force is a combination of people currently with jobs and those without them but having jumped back into the job market and actively seeking one. The number in the latter category now is 264,098, which is just over 6,000 higher than in October.

Georgia’s overall job count now is 4,422,900, the department said. That’s up by nearly 10,000 from the month prior. There were gains in the sectors of professional and business services, manufacturing, education and health services, government and construction. Sectors losing jobs were trade, transportation and warehousing, and information services.

“Our over-the-year job growth continues to look good, as we have gained 98,700 jobs since November of last year,” Butler said. “That represents a 2.3 percent growth rate, which is significantly higher than the national rate of 1.6 percent.”

Year over year, Georgia has added 31,600 jobs in professional and business services, 18,900 in administrative and support services, 17,500 in leisure and hospitality, 14,700 in trade, transportation and warehousing, 11,800 in education and health services, 10,200 in government, 9,100 in construction, 5,400 in financial activities, and 2,300 in manufacturing. Repair and maintenance services lost 2,500 jobs, while information services saw 1,100 fewer positions.

Metro area data released Thursday show Columbus adding 1,300 jobs over the past year, with it having a current total of 123,900 jobs. Every metro area in the state saw increases in their job counts since November of last year, with the exception of Dalton, which has 100 fewer positions, and Hinesville, which did not gain or lose any jobs.

In the category of initial unemployment claims — which represent first-time assistance filings with the labor department after a layoff — the Columbus metro area had 664 total in November. That’s 315 fewer than in November a year ago. Warner Robins, Savannah, Brunswick and Athens all saw increases in such initial filings. Georgia as a whole had 6,339 fewer claims submitted year over year, with November’s total at 27,434.

The labor department will release November unemployment rates for Georgia’s metro areas next week. The Columbus rate in October was 6.2 percent.

Here are the November 2016 job totals for Georgia’s metro areas:

▪ Atlanta — 2,711,900

▪ Augusta — 234,200

▪ Savannah — 182,500

▪ Columbus — 123,900

▪ Macon — 105,500

▪ Athens — 97,500

▪ Gainesville — 87,700

▪ Warner Robins — 71,000

▪ Dalton — 68,300

▪ Albany — 63,700

▪ Valdosta — 56,700

▪ Brunswick — 42,900

▪ Rome — 41,200

▪ Hinesville — 19,900

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 11:00 AM with the headline "More people seeking a job pushes Georgia’s unemployment rate higher."