Georgia Labor Day 2020 by the Numbers

Georgia Private Sector Nonfarm Jobs, January 2019 - July 2020

Statewide employment 

Number of private sector nonfarm jobs in Georgia in July 2020: 3,734.000 

Number of private sector nonfarm jobs in Georgia in July 2019: 3,922,300 

Change from a year ago: - 188,300

 

Number of public sector jobs in Georgia in July 2020: 657,700 

Number of public sector jobs in Georgia in July 2019: 664,600 

Change from a year ago: - 6,900 

Statewide unemployment 

Initial claims 

Number of people filing for Georgia unemployment insurance benefits in the week ending August 22, 2020: 56,758 

Number of initial claims for the same week in 2019: 4,440 

Change from a year ago: + 52,318 

Insured unemployment 

Number of people receiving Georgia unemployment benefits in the week ending August 15, 2020: 553,713 

Number of people receiving benefits for the same week in 2019: 25,549 

Change from a year ago: + 528,164

 

Statewide costs for unemployment insurance benefits 

Amount of regular Georgia UI benefits paid in the past 24 weeks: + $3 billion 

Amount paid in the previous 7 years combined: $2.852 billion

 

Georgia metro areas private sector nonfarm jobs

(As of July 2020 / Change from July 2019)

Albany: 48,200 / - 2,400 

Athens-Clarke County: 67,100 / - 1,500 

Atlanta metro area (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell): 2,381.800 / - 134,800 

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC: 182,800 / - 13,500 

Brunswick: 30,200 / -6,400 

Columbus, GA-AL: 93,000 / - 5,300 

Dalton: 55,600 / - 3,800 

Gainesville: 79,800 / - 3,000 

Hinesville: 13,400 / + 200 

Macon-Bibb County: 83,600 / -5,100 

Rome: 35,900 / - 300 

Savannah: 152,200 / - 10,300 

Valdosta: 42,900 / - 400 

Warner Robins: 44,600 / - 5,100

 

Inflation in the Atlanta metro area (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell)

(Percentage change in retail prices for the 12 months ending in June 2020)

All Items: + 0.9% 

Food: + 4.3% 

Housing: + 2.3% 

Electricity: - 14.3%               

New vehicle: + 2.4% 

Used cars and trucks: - 1.9%

 Gasoline: - 25.4%

 

On Labor Day, Georgia Workers Should Demand a Better Life

The following opinion was originally published in the flagpole, a publication out of Athens, Ga.

By Steve Lomax

Labor Day was created to pay tribute to America’s hard-working men and women, but for many working and middle class families in Georgia, taking time off during the holiday is not an option. For too many Americans, Labor Day is just another working day when the realities and challenges they face only grow. 

Across our state, countless hard-working Georgians who help to feed, serve, clothe and build this country still struggle like never before in low-paying full- or part-time jobs. Nationally, wages have not kept up with inflation. In Georgia, wages have dropped by 12 percent between 2009–2014. Most Americans hope to improve their lives and their income annually, but in Georgia wages have dropped by 13 percent since the recession, a real figure of $7,374 lost, on average, to Georgia’s working families, from 2007–2013.

Erratic work schedules are becoming the norm, especially for workers in the service sector like those at Walmart and McDonald’s. This kind of scheduling makes it all but impossible for workers to control their lives, let alone go to school or take care of a child or a loved one. 

Even worse, as Bloomberg News just reported, irresponsible companies like Walmart promise to raise wages, and then turn around and cut hours—so workers actually earn less. And, to add insult to injury, trade deals supported by Democrats and Republicans offer false promises of better jobs, but we continue to ship good Georgia jobs overseas.

As a result, income inequality has risen to levels not seen since the “Roaring Twenties,” and the divide between the rich and poor continues to grow. According to the new book titled $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, the number of U.S. residents struggling in poverty and trying to get by on only $2 a day has more than doubled since 1996.  

This Labor Day, every Georgian must really ask themselves: How long can this nation endure when so few have so much, and so many have so little?  

For the sake of all of our families, this must change. And that change must begin now. 

Our 17,000 member strong union family is more determined than ever to fight for a better life for all hard-working Georgians. Our message to every worker is a simple one: You’ve earned a better life.

Every day, not just on Labor Day, unions work hard to provide the better wages, benefits and protections that working men and women truly need. The results and benefits of joining a union nationally are quite clear. On average, union workers earn 27 percent more than non-union workers, and are more likely to have paid sick leave and a pension plan. 

More importantly, it is clearer every day that our nation’s broken political system is unlikely to address income inequality, and poor wages and benefits will not be addressed by irresponsible companies more interested in PR stunts. 

Real change will come from hard-working people joining together to fight for it. That’s what Labor Day must be about.  

Labor Day should be a day where hard-working people join together to demand a better life. It must be a day where workers, no matter where they work, whether they work, say enough is enough and call for better wages, better benefits, and a better life they deserve. 

But above all, Labor Day must also be when Georgians realize that there is no corporate or political hero coming to the rescue. Instead, hard-working men and women must seize the opportunity to define their own destiny. 

Doing so begins with every worker knowing that they have power, with our help, to negotiate a better life for themselves and their family. Because when all is said and done, no one in Georgia should have to fight for a better life alone. 

Steve Lomax is the president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1996, which represents 17,000 members in the Southeast, and an International President of the UFCW. Local 1996 represents retail workers; poultry, packaging and manufacturing workers; and health care workers, providing excellent part-time and full-time benefits as well as dignified treatment and a voice at work.