The State of Georgia’s August 2012 unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.2%. This is the second straight month at 9.2% and also matches January for the highest rate for Georgia in 2012. For the month, there were an estimated 439,700 individuals unemployed in the state. This is up by about 1,500 over July 2012. There were also around 2,400 fewer workers employed in Georgia, and just under 1,000 less in the total workforce in August. These (comparatively) small variations when compared with July led to the flat unemployment rate in August.
Though the trend for Georgia has been higher unemployment rates in recent months, the present rate is 0.7% better than the 9.9% rate in August 2011. In comparison with 2011, there are over 30,000 fewer unemployed individuals in Georgia. Also for the past year there are roughly 64,200 more individuals employed in the state. There’s also been an increase in the total Georgia workforce in the past 12 months of over 34,000. These sizable changes have resulted in the major drop in Georgia’s unemployment rate over the past year. Compared to the national average, however, Georgia’s August rate remains much higher (1.1%) than the U.S. average of just 8.1%.
The State of Georgia continues to have one of the highest unemployment rates in the region. The States of Tennessee (8.5%), Florida (8.8%), Alabama (8.5%), and Mississippi (9.1%) all have lower rates in August. Only the State of South Carolina with an August unemployment rate of 9.6% is higher than Georgia. However, just like Georgia, many of the states in the area have also been experiencing higher unemployment rates in recent months.
Georgia’s business types had mixed results in August. Some major business sectors that had positive August results include Manufacturing, Information, Education & Health Services, and Leisure & Hospitality. Down in August were Construction, Financial Activities, Professional & Business Services, and Government. The industry with the biggest improvement (by percentage) over the past year was Professional & Business Services (+ 4.8%). The largest decline (again by percentage) for the prior year was Construction (- 6.7%). The business sector with the most employed in August was in Trade, Transportation & Utilities with around 842,800 employed. Second in August was Government with approximately 665,000 employed.
Later this month the September employment numbers for Georgia will be publicized. We’ll once again take a look at state’s industries and how it compares to the past and to it’s neighbors. Please understand that formerly announced employment numbers could be changed at a later date.