Columbus unemployment rate climbs in May with increase in layoffs
The Columbus metro area unemployment rate edged higher from April to May, rising from 5.4 percent to 5.5 percent, the Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday. That’s still lower than the 5.9 percent rate in the area a year ago.
The department said the rate increase was the result of the local labor force growing, while there also were more layoffs in the area. The labor force, comprised of people with jobs and those unemployed but seeking work, rose by 513 individuals to 124,216.
The number of employed residents was up by 393 month over month to 117,408, which coincides with the Columbus area adding 400 jobs from April to May for a total of 121,300. The difference there is that some residents are working more than one job to make ends meet.
However, with the growing job total came a flip side in the form of an increase in initial, or first time, claims for unemployment assistance by local residents after being laid off. That number rose by 71 month to month for a total of 650 people filing for benefits in May.
Year over year, there has been an increase of 800 jobs in the Columbus metro area, up from 120,500 in May a year ago. Sectors seeing growth were leisure and hospitality, financial activities, manufacturing and construction.
Columbus has the second-highest unemployment rate in Georgia, behind Albany’s 5.7 percent. The lowest is that of Gainesville, just northeast of Atlanta, at 3.9 percent.
Georgia’s overall seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in May was 4.9 percent, slightly lower than the 5 percent reported in April. In May a year ago, the state rate was 5.3 percent.
The labor department recommends that job seekers check out its online site, www.employgeorgia.com, with there just over 70,000 new job openings posted statewide in May. Of those, there were 598 new jobs posted in Columbus.
Georgia’s metro area rates
Here are the May 2017 unemployment rates for Georgia’s metro areas:
▪ Gainesville — 3.9 percent
▪ Savannah — 4.4 percent
▪ Valdosta — 4.4 percent
▪ Athens — 4.5 percent
▪ Atlanta — 4.5 percent
▪ Augusta — 4.7 percent
▪ Brunswick — 4.7 percent
▪ Warner Robins — 4.9 percent
▪ Hinesville — 5.1 percent
▪ Rome — 5.1 percent
▪ Dalton — 5.2 percent
▪ Macon — 5.2 percent
▪ Columbus — 5.5 percent
▪ Albany — 5.7 percent
This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Columbus unemployment rate climbs in May with increase in layoffs."