Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the number of employed Atlanta residents hit an all-time high in May.
Overall, Atlanta had a very positive job numbers for the month of May. In addition to an increase in employment, the 29-county metropolitan statistical area saw increases in jobs and labor force and a drop in the unemployment rate.
Initial claims for unemployment increased slightly from the prior month.
“Georgia’s employment numbers remain strong,” Butler said. “Across the state, the unemployment rate either remained steady or dropped.”
In May, Atlanta saw an increase in the number of employed residents, increasing by 7,427 to nearly 3 million – an all-time high. The number of employed is up 93,870 over the last year.
The labor force also grew by 3,513, reaching nearly 3.1 million. That was an increase of 65,357 over last year.
Atlanta saw robust growth in jobs over the last month, increasing by 12,400 and nearing 2.8 million. Most of those monthly job increases have come in leisure and hospitality; trade, transportation, and utilities; and construction industries. Over the last year, Atlanta saw an increase of 46,000 jobs, with the largest percentage increase coming in the construction industry which grew by 7.6 percent. Large increases over the last year were also seen in trade, transportation, and utilities; leisure and hospitality; and education and health services industries.
The unemployment rate also dropped by 0.2 percent to 3.4 percent. The last time Atlanta’s unemployment rate was at or below 3.4 percent was January 2001. The rate was 4.4 percent last May.
Unemployment claims increased by about 10 percent in May but remain down 10 percent over the last year.
Counties included in the MSA are Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton.
Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 54,528 active job postings in metro Atlanta for May, up 43 percent over the month.
Visit dol.georgia.gov to learn more about career opportunities, Employ Georgia and other GDOL services for job seekers and employers and to connect with us on social media.
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