(The Center Square) – Georgia’s unemployment rate for April is 3.6%, unchanged over the past 11 months, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.
The Peach State added a net 3,700 jobs in April with most of the gains coming in the accommodation and food services and transportation and warehousing sectors.
Some sectors experienced significant losses. Jobs in information were down 4,000; the professional, scientific, and technical services industry lost 2,700 positions, and 1,000 jobs were lost in the federal government sector, according to the labor department. Atlanta is home to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which lost part of its workforce as part of the Trump administration’s restructuring.
While the number of jobs has increased, the number of workers has not. The labor force declined by 3,992 in April, bringing the total number of workers to 5,380,262. The state lost 15,937 over the last 12 months, the labor department said.
Labor shortages have been an issue for about a decade, Hunter Loggins, Georgia Director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, told The Center Square in an interview earlier this month.
“What you’ll see is they will have jobs opening and wanting to hire immediately, but the folks coming through the door and the applicants are getting aren’t what they need either that or they’re just not getting applicants in general,” Loggins said.
The state’s unemployment rate remains below the national rate of 4.2%.
“This sustained economic success supporting a globally competitive labor force of over 5 million is a testament to the power of collaboration between our state government, business leaders and communities,” said Georgia Department of Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes. “Great economies are built on great partnerships, and Georgia continues to prove that a jobs-first approach benefits everyone.”
