The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced today that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March was 5.5 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from 5.4 percent in February. The rate was 6.2 percent in March 2015. 

“Even though the rate went up slightly, March was really a good month for Georgia’s labor market,” said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “Our employers created 12,600 jobs, which is much stronger than the average for the same period over the last three years, and they had fewer lay offs. Our labor force grew by 21,570, bringing the total growth this year to more than 55,000.” 

It was the additional labor force growth that caused the rate increase. While jobseekers are searching for work, they’re counted as unemployed. The number of unemployed in Georgia rose by 4,827. There were also 16,743 more Georgians employed in March. 

The number of jobs increased by 0.3 percent in March to 4,359,100, up from 4,346,500 in February. Over the previous three years, Georgia has gained an average of 9,600 jobs from February to March. Most of the increase came in construction, 4,300; education and health services, 4,100; government, 1,900, along with trade, transportation and warehousing and information services, 1,100 each. The overall job gains were somewhat offset by losses in professional and business services and leisure and hospitality. 

“While our month-to-month job growth was strong, our over-the-year job growth was even stronger,” Butler said. “We continue to out pace the rest of the nation.” Georgia’s March-to-March job growth rate was 3.1 percent, compared to the national rate of 2 percent.

There was an over-the-year increase of 130,000 jobs, from March 2015. The sectors showing the largest increases were professional and business services, 29,300; trade, transportation and warehousing, 28,100; leisure and hospitality, 20,000; construction, 15,500; education and health services, 13,500; manufacturing, 9,900, government, 7,400; financial activities, 5,700, and other services, 2,400. Information services was the only major employment sector to lose jobs, with a loss of 1,600.   

While the number of jobs increased, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, declined by 1,357, or 4.6 percent, to 27,982 in March. Most of the decline was due to a decrease in claims filed in manufacturing and construction, administrative and support services, and trade, transportation and warehousing.   

And, over the year, the number of claims declined by 1,914, or 6.4 percent, from 29,896 filed in March 2015. The decrease came mostly in construction.  

Butler continued to encourage job seekers and employers to use the GDOL’s online job listing service, www.employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employees.  In March, 78,986 jobs throughout the state were posted on Employ Georgia. The leading sectors for job postings were health care and social assistance, professional, scientific and technical services and retail trade.