Georgia unemployment rate steady at 5.5 percent in April

There was no movement in Georgia’s unemployment rate from March to April, with the current figure remaining steady at 5.5 percent.

That compares to 6.1 percent in April of last year, the Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday.

“We continue to see evidence that our job market is moving in the right direction, even though the unemployment rate remained steady,” State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement. “Our job growth is outpacing the nation as a whole, our labor force is showing strong growth and our employers are laying off fewer workers.”

One positive economic sign was that all 14 of Georgia’s metropolitan areas saw year-over-year increases in their overall job totals in April, with Columbus adding 600 positions for a total of 122,200. That compares to 83,300 jobs added in Atlanta, 6,800 in Savannah, 4,100 in Athens, 3,500 in Gainesville, 2,500 in Macon, 2,000 in Augusta, 1,500 in Dalton, 1,400 in Brunswick, 1,200 in Albany and 1,000 in Valdosta.

Georgia as a whole picked up 10,600 jobs from March to April, giving the state a total of 4,371,300 positions. That compares to the Peach State gaining an average of 5,700 jobs from March to April over the last three years. Sectors faring the best include professional and business services, information services, manufacturing and trade/transportation/warehousing.

Year over year, Georgia gained 140,800 jobs, a growth rate of 3.3 percent, which compares to U.S. growth of 1.9 percent over the same period. Again, professional and business services added the largest portion of those new jobs with 40,000 positions, while trade/transportation/warehousing picked up 28,700, leisure and hospitality gained 19,700, and construction increased by 13,600. Education and health services saw gains of 11,600 jobs, with manufacturing chipping in 11,000 positions.

One key measure watched by labor market experts is new claims for unemployment assistance, which represent fresh layoffs. Georgia’s declined by 1,637 filings from March to April for a current total of 26,345 people seeking benefits. Year over year, statewide claims are down nearly 1,400, with the total in April a year ago of 27,739.

Among Georgia’s metro areas, Columbus saw an increase of 190 first-time filings for unemployment benefits from a year ago, with 871 local residents submitting claims for assistance in April. Other metro areas to see claim increases were Augusta, Albany, Dalton and Gainesville.

April unemployment rates for Georgia’s metro areas will be released next week. The Columbus rate in March was 6.6 percent.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Georgia unemployment rate steady at 5.5 percent in April."