The Georgia Department of Labor announced on April 30 that the state’s labor force and employment reached new record highs in March, with a total labor force of 5,455,254 and employment at 5,262,263. The unemployment rate for March was reported at 3.5 percent, which is lower than the national average by 0.8 percentage point but slightly higher than Georgia’s rate from a year earlier.
Georgia Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes said, “Georgia’s economy is proving its strength with nearly 5.5 million in our labor force and 5.26 million employed, record highs that reflect momentum across our state. March brought renewed job growth, driven by record employment in health care and social assistance and 2,500 more jobs than a year ago. This is what resilient, sustainable growth looks like, and Georgia is delivering.”
According to the department’s report for March, the state’s labor force increased by over four thousand compared to February and grew by nearly forty-six thousand over the past year. Employment rose by more than five thousand during the month and has increased by thirty-five thousand since last year.
Unemployment declined by just over one thousand people compared to February but remains higher than it was twelve months ago.
Job gains were seen in several sectors including health care and social assistance—which reached an all-time high of six hundred forty-one thousand seven hundred jobs—wholesale trade; information; arts, entertainment and recreation; as well as other services sectors. Sectors such as accommodation and food services; construction; real estate; professional services; and private education experienced declines in job numbers over the month.
Looking at annual trends through March: health care led with twenty-four thousand six hundred new jobs added over twelve months while local government also saw increases along with arts-related fields and other service industries. Conversely federal government positions fell significantly alongside losses in accommodation/food service roles as well as retail trade.
