Georgia's Jobless Rate Hits New 7-Year Low

The unemployment rate in Georgia fell another percentage point in July, continuing a trend that kept the rate at its lowest point in more than seven years, the state labor department said Thursday.

The July rate of 6.0 percent was down one-tenth from June 6.1, a seven-year low at the time. The rate in July 2014 was 7.2 percent.

The rate was the lowest in Georgia since May 2008.

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“It’s been more than seven years since Georgia’s unemployment rate was this low, and the credit belongs to our employers who continue to create jobs and put people to work,” State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a news release. “In July, we had 89,400 more jobs than in the same period a year ago.”

The number of jobs in Georgia increased to 4,252,200 in July, up by 4,600, or 0.1 percent, from June. The growth came mostly in local government, 4,300; professional and business services, 3,100; retail trade, 2,800; and leisure and hospitality, 1,700. The overall increase was offset somewhat by job losses in state government, 2,400; educational services, 2,100; and finance and insurance, 1,100.

Over-the-year, the number of jobs in Georgia grew by 2.1 percent, from 4,162,800 in July 2014.

While the rate declined in July, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 2,868, or 8.8 percent, to 35,487 in July, the labor department said.

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Jobless rates for metro areas, cities and counties are due next week.