Nonfarm Employment in Georgia, January-June 2020
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Georgia saw 248,300 fewer jobs in the 2nd quarter
of 2020 compared to the 1st quarter of the year. The unemployment
rate fell to 7.6% in June, down from its May rate of 9.4%.
Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler was quoted as saying: “June was the first month to show positive numbers in all
major indicators since the pandemic started. Although it is nice
to see the pendulum move in the right direction, we are not naïve to the fact
that we may see another tick up in claims over the next few months. We will
continue to work unemployment claims both new and continued to ensure all
Georgians are being taken care of during these unprecedented times.”
At the end of the 2nd quarter, employment in
Georgia stood at 4,370,300 jobs having given up all the job gains it had made
in the past four years.
In June, employment grew by 150,200 jobs, the second
consecutive month of job growth after posting a revised net growth of 99,600 jobs
in May.
Despite the two months of increases, there was net job loss
for the quarter as growth in May and June could not overcome the loss of
498,100 jobs in April.
Over the past 12 months, the state has suffered a net loss
of 239,800 jobs, its largest net loss of jobs since 2009.
Unemployment
The state’s unemployment rate remained elevated compared to
the state’s 3.5% unemployment rate in June 2019. The percentage of the
population employed in June rose to 54.9% up from 53.5% in May. A year ago, the state’s employment-population ratio stood at 60.0%.
In June, the number of unemployed in the state stood at
373,404, also a decrease from the numbers posted in April and May.
Employment by industry
While nearly all industries posted improvements in June
compared to their April and May losses, nearly all industries showed job
declines over the quarter.
Overall, the private sector posted a net loss of 226,200 jobs
in the second quarter with significant quarterly net losses in the leisure and
hospitality sector (-88,100), the professional and business services industry (-38,000),
and in health care and social assistance (-18,500).
Although nearly every industry posted job gains in June, one
exception was state government, which showed a net loss of 500 jobs in June. For the quarter, state government employment declined by 7,200.
Only federal government employment in the state showed improvements over the quarter, rising by a net of 900 jobs in
the 2nd quarter.
