(The Center Square) — Georgia’s June seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit an all-time low of 2.9%, below the national unemployment rate of 3.6%, state officials said.
The number of jobs in the state reached an all-time high of more than 4.8 million, increasing by 18,100 from May to June and 246,300 over the year.
“We have never seen an unemployment rate below three percent,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in an announcement. “The unemployment rate is decreasing exactly the way it should in a strong economy. We are adding new job seekers and they are quickly finding employment.
“The labor force has increased to its highest number ever as more Georgians are actively working or looking for work,” Butler added. “Georgia ranks highest in the Southeast and third highest of the ten most populated states with a labor participation rate of 62.3% for May.”
A deeper dive into employment numbers shows Georgia’s labor participation rate has not recovered to levels preceding “The Great Recession.”
According to numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the state’s labor participation rate of 62.3% in May matched the national rate. In May 2008, for example, the state’s labor participation rate was 68.4%, above the national average of 66.1%.
In June 1979, under President Jimmy Carter, The Peach State’s labor participation rate was 64.3%, above the national average of 63.5%.
This article was published by The Center Square and is republished here with permission. Click here to view the original.
