Georgia 12-month percentage change in nonfarm jobs. seasonally adjusted, 2014-2016
Despite upbeat messages from the Georgia Department of
Labor, Georgia’s December 2016 nonfarm employment count only equaled its 2015
job growth and fell below the levels set in December 2013 and 2014, according
to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In December, Georgia added 5,900 jobs, seasonally
adjusted, the same as in December 2015. Before seasonal adjustment, net jobs
dropped by 9,700. In December 2015, the state lost only 2,100 jobs before
seasonal adjustment.
As a result, Georgia’s 12-month net increase in
seasonally adjusted 103,300 net new jobs with a job growth rate of 2.4 percent,
still higher than the national average at 1.5 percent, but the slowest job
increase recorded in the state since 2013.
Unemployment
As a result of the slowdown in new job creation, even as
the state’s labor force grew, the state’s unemployment rate in December was
virtually unchanged over the year.
In December 2016, the state’s seasonally adjusted
unemployment rate stood at 5.4 percent compared to a 5.5 percent rate in
December 2015, a statistically insignificant difference.
Over the past year, the state added 27,767 people to its
labor force, and the number of unemployed grew by 10,648, not seasonally
adjusted.
Atlanta Metro Area
The slowdown in job growth was concentrated outside the
Atlanta metro area.
In December 2016, the Atlanta metro area added 4,500
jobs, seasonally adjusted and accounted for three-fourths of the state’s net
job growth.
Over the year, the Atlanta’s area growth rate reached 2.7
percent, slightly below 2016’s rate of 2.8 percent. For the year, the Atlanta
metro area added 70,500 jobs, about the same number of jobs as in 2015.
Other Metro Areas
in Georgia
Unfortunately, the state continues to acknowledge the
problem of slowing job growth outside the Atlanta metro area.
Three metro areas in Georgia added fewer than 300 net new
jobs over the past 12 months. Dalton added 200 jobs over the year, Valdosta
added 100, and Hinesville actually has lost 100 jobs since December 2015.
While BLS does not publish a number for nonmetro nonfarm
jobs in the state, with the Atlanta and Savannah metro areas accounting for
three-fourths of the state’s new jobs and the smaller metros suffering, it is
fair to say that the rural parts of the state are suffering at least to the
same degree as the small metro areas.
Unless conditions change by an influx of new jobs into
the rural and small metro areas, the Atlanta area will continue to be a mecca
for state residents looking to escape dead-end careers, and the state will be
steadily transformed as economic power (leading to political power) continues
to concentrate in the Atlanta area.
Nonfarm Employment December 2016 /
12-months ending in December 2016
(Seasonally Adjusted. Preliminary data from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
Statewide Georgia
5,900 / 103,300
Albany -200 / 1,000
Athens -1,400 / 1,700
Atlanta 4,500 / 70,500
Augusta 0 / 4,800
Brunswick 200 / 500
Columbus 800 / 1,900
Dalton 0 / 200
Gainesville 600 / 2,100
Hinesville -100 / -100
Macon -200 / 700
Rome -100 / 400
Savannah 1,100 / 6,800
Valdosta -400 / 100