The Georgia Department of Labor announced on Apr. 16 that the state’s labor force and employment both reached all-time highs in February, with figures rising to 5.45 million and 5.25 million, respectively. The unemployment rate for February stood at 3.6%, which is lower than the national average by 0.8 percentage point but slightly higher than Georgia’s rate a year ago.
These numbers highlight continued growth in Georgia’s workforce, reflecting more residents participating in the economy and contributing to statewide job creation efforts.
“Georgia continues to set record highs in both employment and the size of its workforce. That means more Georgians are working and contributing to our economy than ever before,” said Georgia Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes. “Our focus remains on connecting Georgians to good, mortgage-paying jobs and supporting the employers who drive job creation across this state.”
In detail, the labor force increased by over 5,400 people from January to a total of more than 5.45 million—a rise of nearly 39,500 over the past year—while employment rose by almost 4,000 month-over-month and nearly 29,000 year-over-year.
Despite these gains, unemployment also saw an uptick; it rose by about 1,500 from January for a total of just over 194,000 unemployed individuals statewide—up more than ten thousand compared to last year—with the unemployment rate edging up from a revised figure of 3.5% recorded since November.
Job totals fell by about 4,200 positions during February for an overall count just under five million jobs; this marks two consecutive months of worker losses following downward revisions for January data. However, certain sectors showed strength: health care and social assistance reached an all-time high with over 638,000 jobs added during February alone.
Other sectors seeing monthly job gains included information services (900), durable goods manufacturing (700), management companies (600), and wholesale trade (500). Conversely, construction lost around 3,700 jobs while transportation/warehousing/utilities shed roughly another combined total of almost three thousand positions alongside declines in retail trade as well as accommodation/food services.
Over twelve months ending in February health care/social assistance led annual sectoral growth (+22k) followed distantly by local/state government roles plus arts/recreation/leasing activities; meanwhile federal government (-12k) along with several private industries experienced notable declines.
