Georgia unemployment rate reaches all-time low

News

ATLANTA — State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Wednesday that Georgia’s unemployment rate fell in October to tie the state’s all-time low, matching a record set nearly 20 years ago.

That record wasn’t the only one set in October. Georgia also set new highs for jobs and employment. Several job sectors set records as well.

“We had a record-setting month in October and that always stands out,” Butler said. “We tied the record low unemployment rate while at the same time setting new records for employment and jobs.”

Nationally, the unemployment rate climbed in October to 3.6 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points. The nation also grew to its labor force by 325,000, increased employment by 241,000 and added more 125,000 jobs.

Georgia’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell in October by 0.1 percentage points to 3.4 percent.
That number was last reached in December 2000. Georgia’s rate was as high as 10.6 percent in 2010 due to impacts from the Great Recession. The number has been steadily falling ever since. In fact, it’s been under 4 percent since last summer.

With the record rate, Georgia’s number of unemployed residents fell to under 175,000 – the lowest total in more than 18 years.

“It was 2001 when we last saw the number of unemployed this low in Georgia,” Butler said, “and there were a million fewer people in the work force back then.”

Georgia added 5,400 jobs in October, pushing the total to 4.64 million jobs – a new record for the state. That number is up 72,500 from the same time last year.

Georgia had three job sectors that added at least 2,000 jobs in October:
Leisure/hospitality, 4,400
Education/Health, 3,400
Trade/transportation/utilities, 2,100.

In terms of annual change, five sectors were up more than 5,000:
Education/health services, 23,800
Leisure/hospitality, 20,200
Trade/transportation/utilities, 9,200
Construction, 6,100
Government, 6,100.

With all that job growth, Georgia also set records for the most jobs ever in leisure/hospitality, education/health and financial activities.

In October, the number of employed residents climbed by 12,963 and pushed Georgia’s number of employed to 4.95 million. That’s a new record for Georgia.

Georgia’s labor force also grew in October by 5,479, adding to a total work force of more than 5.1 million. That number was up by 4,107 from the same month a year ago.

At the same time, new claims for unemployment increased in October. The total number of claims filed in October increased by 29 percent. They were down by about 11 percent compared with October 2018.

In October, EmployGeorgia.com noted about 95,000 job postings.

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.

Governor’s race is still too close to call

News, Politics

Brian Kemp

ATLANTA – With 98 percent of the state’s precincts reporting, the top Election Day prize was still up for grabs at 7 a.m. today.

Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp leads former House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams with 50.42 percent of the vote to Abrams 48.64. Kemp must win 50.1 percent to avoid a runoff.

Kemp told supporters “I am confident victory is near.”

Abrams has not yet conceded. She says she “will wait until every vote Is counted.”

Geoff Duncan

Forsyth County’s Geoff Duncan has claimed victory in the race for Lt. Governor over Democrat Sarah Riggs Amico.  Duncan has received 51.83 percent in the two-person race.

Only the final margin is in question in the race for Ninth District U.S. Congress where Republican incumbent Doug Collins has won 79.6 percent of the vote to Josh McCall’s 20.4.

Republican Brad Raffensperger and John Barrow are headed for a runoff. Raffensperger has received 49.28 percent of the vote to Barrow’s 48.49. Smythe Duval has received 2.22 percent.

Elsewhere, Republicans held comfortable margins. Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black leads his Democrat challenger Fred Swann with 53.27 percent to Swann’s 46.73.

U.S. Rep. Doug Collins

Incumbent Republican State School Superintendent Richard Woods has won 53.21 percent of the vote to Otha Thornton’s 46.79.

Another incumbent Republican, Labor Commissioner Mark Butler leads Richard Keatley 52.68 percent to 47.32.

Republican Jim Beck leads a three-way race against Democrat Janice Laws and Libertarian Donnie Fowler. Beck has won 50.56 percent to Laws’ 46.79. Fowler has received 2.6.

Fetch Your News will update these results when they become official.

 

 

 

 

 

Labor Secretary announces records set in first two months

News

ATLANTA –Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the state opened 2019 by setting a series of records.

In the two-month cycle of January and February, Georgia posted gains in jobs, labor force and employed residents. Records were posted in all three areas during the cycle.

“We’re only two months into the year,” Butler said, “but we started 2019 strong. During what is normally a slow period for Georgia we gained more than 10,000 jobs and boosted the labor force by about 7,000. Those are solid gains.”

Overall, Georgia ended February with 4.6 million jobs. That’s an increase of about 97,100 from the job total as of a year ago.

Georgia also posted record totals for jobs in:

  • trade, transportation and utilities, 959,800,
  • professional and business services, education, 710,400, and
  • leisure and hospitality, 502,500.

Construction posted its highest number since May 2008.

“To see these gains across the board is an indication of the strength of Georgia’s economy,” Butler said.

The unemployment rate inched up in early 2019, driven by gains in the workforce. The rate climbed .1 percent in both January and February, settling at 3.9 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.2 percent.

Nationally, the rate for February was 3.8 percent.

The labor force increased in January by 6,365 and February by another 907. The 5.12 million total is an all-time high for Georgia. That number is up more than 22,000 from the total from February 2018.

Georgia ended February with 4.92 million employed residents. The state inched toward the 5 million mark throughout 2018. The number increased by 1,191 in January and dipped by 629 in February to net at an increase of 562 over the two-month cycle.

Georgia residents filed just under 70,000 claims for unemployment over the two-month period. The numbers for January were up from December by 72 percent and dropped in February by 52 percent. When compared to last February, claims were up by just under 100.

In February, claims were down in manufacturing administrative/support services and trade.

In both January and February, there were about 72,000 statewide listings in EmployGeorgia.com That’s up by about 1 percent.

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.

 

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

 

Former AG testimony could be pivotal in Nydia Tisdale’s trial in Superior Court

News

Tisdale struggles to escape Dawson County Sheriff’s Capt. Tony Wooten. (Photo by Brian K. Pritchard).

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Governor Nathan Deal and former Attorney General Sam Olens, two of Georgia’s most prominent political figures, are expected to testify at Nydia Tisdale’s trial in Dawson County Superior Court this week.

Tisdale is charged with felony obstruction of an officer, misdemeanor obstruction and criminal trespass stemming from her conduct at a Republican political rally at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in August 2014. Deal, Olens, Senator David Perdue, Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, Labor Commissioner Mark Butler and School Superintendent Richard Woods were featured speakers. All have been subpoenaed.

While the event was advertised as “open to the public,” it took place on private property owned by Johnny and Kathy Burt. Johnny Burt testified Wednesday that he did not authorize the ads, and he wanted Tisdale to stop filming or leave. When she refused, he told then Dawson County Sheriff’s Captain Tony Wooten to “get her out of here.”

Witnesses said when Wooten attempted to lead Tisdale away from the crowd, she began screaming and flailing her arms and hit Wooten in the face and was subsequently placed under arrest.

The audio and pictures of the struggle were captured by Brian K. Pritchard of Fetch Your News, who was seated directly behind Tisdale. Pritchard is also expected to testify, possibly as early as today (Nov. 30).

At the time of the arrest, Olens was the top law enforcement official in Georgia. Public comments he made after Tisdale’s arrest could be pivotal in the case. Olens questioned the political wisdom of having her removed, saying: “What are we saying here that shouldn’t be on film? What message are we sending?”

But he added, “It is private property. The property owner has the right to not have the person there.”

The state could wrap up its case today. The defense will then begin calling its witnesses.

Georgia hits 4.5 million job mark in October

State & National

Georgia hits 4.5 million job mark in October

ATLANTA – State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said today that Georgia broke the 4.5- million jobs barrier in October, bouncing back from a job loss due to Hurricane Irma in September.

The state posted 4,510,100 jobs for the month. That preliminary number is higher than Georgia’s previous revised record of 4,497,700 set in August.  In September, Georgia had a temporary setback with a job loss of 3,400.

Georgia also set records in October for labor force and the number of employed residents.

“After the effects of the storm, this month’s numbers are much closer to what we are used to seeing,” Butler said. “All the indicators – job growth, unemployment claims, labor force and employed residents – are trending in the right direction.  October was a great month for a dynamic, growing state like Georgia.”

Monthly numbers can fluctuate due to short-term impacts like Irma and are subject to revisions. The story built over the year, Butler said, gives a clearer picture of the state’s economy and jobs picture because it smooths out short-term shifts seen in monthly reports.

Over the past 12 months, Georgia has added 87,800 jobs, a 2 percent growth rate. The state is outpacing the national job growth rate of 1.4 percent.

In October Georgia posted 15,800 new jobs. Growth came mostly in the private sector including, construction, 5,500 and professional and business services, 5,200. Georgia’s over-the-year job growth came mostly in the private sector. Jobs were added in professional and business services, 24,900; education and health services, 15,300; leisure and hospitality, 14,500; and trade, transportation and warehousing, 11,700.

“It’s important that Georgia is adding jobs,” Butler noted, “but it’s more important that people continue to get them. And, we continue to see both happening.”

In October, the total number of employed residents rose by 20,634 to 4,865,859. There are 173,402 more Georgians employed now than in October 2016.

At the same time, the state’s labor force, which includes the total number of Georgians with jobs and those unemployed but looking for work, rose to 5,085,519, up by 15,123 in October.  The labor force is up by 123,441 since October 2016.

Butler added that the unemployment rate also continues to fall.

The unemployment rate in October was 4.3 percent, down from September’s revised number of 4.4 percent. That compares favorably to last October when the rate was 5.4 percent. The lowest jobless rate ever recorded for the state was 3.4 percent in November 2000.

Monthly unemployment claims were up by 9.6 percent to 27,040. Most of the increase came due to temporary claims filed in manufacturing. However, from October a year ago, unemployment claims were down by 7.9 percent from 29,355.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com, showed 59,231 new job postings statewide for October.

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.

DATA FOR THE METRO AREAS ARE ATTACHED, TABLES AND GRAPHS REFLECTING LABOR MARKET DATA ARE AVAILABLE AT http://dol.georgia.gov/current-labor-force-data-and-graphs

NEWS MEDIA NEEDING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY CALL (404) 232-3685

Hurricane Irma Impacts State Rate

State & National

Jobs decrease slightly in state, as Hurricane Irma impacts Coastal Georgia

ATLANTA – State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said today that Hurricane Irma caused Georgia’s job numbers to fall and unemployment claims to rise in September.

Butler noted that the state lost about 500 jobs for the month.  Similarly, Georgia also saw nearly 25,000 unemployment claims filed in September. That was a modest increase from the prior month and from September 2016. A 240 percent jump for the month in the coastal region drove the statewide numbers up slightly, the commissioner said.

“Even though the hurricane did have a negative effect on Georgia’s job and unemployment claims numbers, we still had a record month for employment and persons entering the workforce,” Butler said. “This shows the strength of Georgia’s economy and job market.”

Butler noted that even though September’s numbers were impacted by Hurricane Irma those changes were not enough to significantly affect the state’s strong performance over the past 12 months. Georgia added more than 84,000 new jobs during that time, Butler said.

Further, Butler said in September the state jobless rate continued to decline. He reported the September unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, down from 4.7 percent in August. It was last that low in June 2007. The monthly rate compares favorably to last September when the rate was 5.4 percent.

Butler added that employment among the state’s residents was up by 35,649 from August. That’s the largest single-month gain in at least 40 years.  The labor force, which is the number of residents employed and those unemployed but actively looking for work, rose by 25,761, as the number of unemployed declined by 9,888.

“It continues to be a very good year for Georgia’s economy when you look at the whole picture,” Butler said.

With the monthly job loss, Georgia ended September with 4,497,200 total jobs.  Jobs were up 1.9 percent from September 2016.

Most of the over-the-year job growth came in professional and business services, 28,200; leisure and hospitality, 19,200; education and health services, 14,600; and trade, transportation and warehousing, 10,400.

Statewide, unemployment claims were up by 3.6 percent to 24,666, due largely to temporary claims filed in manufacturing and accommodations and food services. Compared to September 2016, claims were up a modest 1.1 percent from 24,403.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 56,210 new active job postings in Georgia for September.

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.

DATA FOR THE METRO AREAS ARE ATTACHED, TABLES AND GRAPHS REFLECTING LABOR MARKET DATA ARE AVAILABLE AT http://dol.georgia.gov/current-labor-force-data-and-graphs

NEWS MEDIA NEEDING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY CALL (404) 232-3685

Labor Summits Scheduled for North Georgia

News

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia Department of Labor will host a series of summits across north Georgia aimed at helping businesses make better use of social media to enhance their businesses.

On Oct. 5, the summit will be held in Gainesville at The Oaks at Lanier Charter Career Academy, 2719 Tumbling Creek Road starting at 9:30 a.m.

Labor Secretary Mark Butler will host the summits which will be conducted by a variety of presenters.

Butler said they will talk about how businesses can use social media to enhance businesses and provide tips on how to leverage it in the right way but will also caution of the pitfalls of how social media can adversely affect businesses and give suggestions of how to use it and leverage it in the right way.

He also said his office has identified an increased number of requests from the business community for more information.  The summits will also give his department a chance to hear directly from business leaders, in order to improve service.

Experts at the summit are also expected to discuss a range of employment and legal issues. Employers will also hear about labor laws and unemployment insurance.

“Not only do we talk about changes and things that the Georgia Department of Labor is doing, but we typically have somebody, a labor attorney, who we also have there at these who gives a talk about changes in federal law.”

 

 

 

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