Unemployment Rate drops Again in May

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announces that Georgia’s May unemployment rate dropped another 0.2 percentage points to reach 4.1 percent in May as the labor force declined 12,478 to reach a total of 5,160,501. The labor force increased gradually during the first quarter of 2021, but dropped in May despite the lifting of many pandemic restrictions and an increase in the state’s vaccination rates.  Georgia’s employed residents in May saw a decrease of 2,292, reaching a total of 4,948,784, and the number of unemployed dropped 10,186 for a total of 211,717.  “Although the unemployment rate has continued to trend downward for the past thirteen months, the focus should not be on the rate,” said Commissioner Mark Butler.  “We have a serious workforce issue reflected in the monthly drop in the labor force. We are looking to reemploy Georgians as a critical component for our economic recovery.”  The state’s labor force participation rate for May 2021 was 61.8 percent, maintaining a flat rate since October 2020 when the rate was 61.7 percent. The labor force participation rate is defined as the percentage of the population old enough to work currently counted in the labor force. This rate measures how many Georgians are working or seeking work and is reflective of the total sum of unemployed and employed workers. Those identified as unemployed, but have not looked for a job in the past month, are not considered to be in the workforce.  “If today’s labor force participation rate matched that of March 2020 when the rate was 62.9 percent, 45,000 more people would be in the labor force and the unemployment rate would be 5 percent instead of 4.1 percent,” said Commissioner Butler. “With the amount of jobs listed in Employ Georgia combined with the number of employers I am hearing from daily who are struggling to find employees, we need to see our labor force increase dramatically.”  Jobs in May increased by 7,000, reaching a total of 4,481,100. This number is up 295,800 compared to the same time last year. Since April 2020, 424,100 (70 percent) of the 609,500 jobs lost in March 2020 and April 2020 have been gained back.  Resources for reemployment assistance along with Information on filing an unemployment claim and details on how employers can file partial claims can be found on the agency’s webpage at dol.georgia.gov.