Georgia marks Lowest Unemployment Rate Ever as Wages increase Statewide

Labor Commissioner Mark Butler announces that Georgia’s wages across the state are rising and the March unemployment rate dropped to an all-time low of 3.1 percent from February’s revised rate of 3.2 percent.  Georgia’s unemployment rate was five-tenths of a percent lower than the national March 2022 unemployment rate of 3.6 percent.  The average wage difference from February 2020 to February 2022 was over 9 percent. Some of the industries hardest hit during the pandemic showed wage increases over 10 percent, including Leisure and Hospitality with a 20.4 percent increase and Health Care with a 10.6 percent increase. Professional and Business Services, which includes Administrative and Support Services, showed a 9.3 percent wage increase.  Commissioner Butler also announced a new all-time high number of employed Georgians of 5,086,085, up 17,667 in March. The labor force was at an all-time high of 5,251,130, up 16,498 over the month, and the number of unemployed was down 1,169 to 165,045, the lowest figure since June 2001.