Georgia’s Unemployment Rate remains Steady

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) reports that the state’s April unemployment rate remained steady at 3.1 percent for the ninth consecutive month and is three-tenths of a percent lower than the national unemployment rate of 3.4 percent.  The 3.1 percent unemployment rate is unchanged from a revised 3.1 percent in March.  In March, Georgia had the highest labor force participation rate in the southeast, 61.2 percent, and the highest employment-to-population ratio in the region, 59.2 percent.  Jobs were up by 10,400 (0.2%) over the month and up by 111,800 (2.3%) over the year to 4,894,300, an all-time high.  Georgia’s labor force increased for the seventh consecutive month by 14,557 to 5,275,896, an all-time high, and has risen by 42,180 since the beginning of the year – the labor force participation rate held at 61.2 percent.  For the sixth consecutive month, the number of employed was up by 14,088 to 5,110,471, an all-time high, and has risen 38,216 since the beginning of the year, the employment-to-population ration was up one-tenth to 59.3 percent.  In April, over 154,000 job listings were online for Georgians to access.  Initial claims were up 3,301 (15%) from March to 25,407 in April. Over the year, initial claims were up 7,984 (46%).