Georgia's metro areas show little change in unemployment rates in September even as labor force declines

In September, unemployment rates showed little to no change over the month in 10 of Georgia’s 14 metro areas, while the labor force shrunk in 12 areas, according to seasonally adjusted data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Gainesville and Rome areas recorded the largest declines in their unemployment rates with each area dropping by 0.2 percentage points. Gainesville’s unemployment rate dropped from 6.6 percent in August to 6.4 percent in September. Rome’s rate declined from 8.3 to 8.1 percent.

Areas reporting no change in their unemployment rates included Athens (5.9 percent), Augusta (7.5 percent), Macon (8.1 percent), Savannah (7.2 percent), and Warner Robins (7.3 percent).

Dalton remains the highest unemployment rate among the state's metro areas, recording a 10 percent unemployment in September compared to 10.1 percent in August.

Unemployment rates, seasonally adjusted

	Sep 2013	Aug 2014	Sep 2014
United States	7.2	6.1	5.9
Georgia	8.0	8.1	7.9
Albany, GA MSA	8.6	8.7	8.6
Athens-Clarke County, GA MSA	5.8	5.9	5.9
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta	7.6	7.6	7.5
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-	7.9	7.5	7.5
Brunswick, GA MSA	8.9	8.8	8.7
Columbus, GA-AL MSA	8.2	8.5	8.4
Dalton, GA MSA	10.0	10.1	10.0
Gainesville, GA MSA	6.4	6.6	6.4
Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA	8.7	8.6	8.5
Macon, GA MSA	8.3	8.1	8.1
Rome, GA MSA	8.6	8.3	8.1
Savannah, GA MSA	7.3	7.2	7.2
Valdosta, GA MSA	7.6	8.0	7.9
Warner Robins, GA MSA	7.1	7.3	7.3

The Atlanta metro area recorded the largest labor force decrease, dropping by 7,674 people over the month while recording an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent. The Savannah metro area showed the largest increase in its labor force, up by 252 people in September. 

Georgia Labor force, seasonally adjusted

	Sep 2013	Aug 2014	Sep 2014	Aug-Sep 2014
Georgia	4,753,771	4,767,622	4,762,093	-5,529
Albany, GA MSA	72,787	71,250	71,303	53
Athens-Clarke County, GA MSA	113,028	113,005	112,708	-297
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta	2,724,699	2,744,446	2,736,772	-7,674
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-	261,386	264,798	264,611	-187
Brunswick, GA MSA	49,583	48,636	48,691	55
Columbus, GA-AL MSA	130,666	129,825	129,237	-588
Dalton, GA MSA	58,425	58,039	57,764	-275
Gainesville, GA MSA	91,274	92,374	92,221	-153
Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA	32,763	32,822	32,791	-31
Macon, GA MSA	111,442	110,201	109,977	-224
Rome, GA MSA	47,220	47,049	46,825	-224
Savannah, GA MSA	181,812	182,420	182,672	252
Valdosta, GA MSA	66,249	65,987	65,996	9
Warner Robins, GA MSA	69,225	68,491	68,334	-157

Statewide, Georgia recorded a 0.2 percentage rate decline from 8.1 percent in August to 7.9 percent in September. The state recorded a net drop of 5,529 people from its labor force. The state’s unemployment rate was the highest of all 50 states in September and remained a full two percentage points higher than the U.S. rate of 5.9 percent.

Labor force is defined as the number of people employed plus the number of people not working and actively seeking work. The numbers are produced by a statistical model that uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey, employer survey, and unemployment claims. Unemployment rates are calculated by the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the number of people in the labor force.

Atlanta by the numbers

The Atlanta MSA recorded essentially flat growth in September 2014, showing a small gain of 900 jobs, not statistically significantly different from last month’s data.

The fact that both Georgia and Atlanta recorded no statistically significant changes over the month is not surprising as the Atlanta MSA accounts for nearly 60 percent of the state’s nonfarm jobs.

Job growth, September 2013 – September 2014, for selected industries in Georgia, the Atlanta MSA and Rest of Georgia, not seasonally adjusted

Industry Sector	Atlanta MSA	Rest of Georgia	Total Georgia
Total Nonfarm	51,900	28,100	80,000
Construction	3,900	3,400	7,300
Manufacturing	4,600	3,900	8,500
Wholesale Trade	5,000	-800	4,200
Retail Trade	5,400	1,400	6,800
Information	1,300	-400	900
Financial Activities	3,500	-2,500	1,000
Professional & Business Services	13,200	10,900	24,100
Education & Health Services	2,700	3,700	6,400
Leisure & Hospitality	8,600	5,700	14,300
Government	2,000	-3,500	-1,500

Job growth among 11 largest U.S. metropolitan labor markets (2 million jobs or greater), not seasonally adjusted

MSA	Percent change September 2013 – September 2014		MSA	Percent change September 2009 – September 2014
Houston	4.3		Houston	16.5
Dallas	3.2		San Francisco	13.5
Miami	2.9		Dallas	13.3
San Francisco	2.9		Miami	10.9
Atlanta	2.1		Atlanta	9.1
Boston	1.8		Los Angeles	8.5
Los Angeles	1.8		Boston	7.9
New York	1.5		New York	7.3
Chicago	1.0		Chicago	5.8
Philadelphia	0.5		Washington, D.C.	5.3
Washington, D.C.	0.3		Philadelphia	3.0

  

Overall, the Atlanta MSA accounts for nearly 60 percent of all nonfarm jobs in the state, but this varies greatly by industry sector

Industry Sector	Atlanta MSA as a percentage of jobs  in Georgia,  September 2014, not seasonally adjusted
Total Nonfarm	59.8%
Construction	63.0%
Manufacturing	42.1%
Wholesale Trade	73.1%
Retail Trade	57.7%
Information	83.8%
Financial Activities	69.3%
Professional & Business Services	73.1%
Education & Health Services	52.7%
Ambulatory Health Care Services	66.0%
Hospitals	48.6%
Private Educational Services	70.6%
Leisure & Hospitality	59.7%
Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation	69.4%
Food & Drink Services	59.0%
Government	46.9%

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

October 23, 2014