January jobs report shows Athens unemployment increase

The state Labor Department reports an increase in the Athens unemployment rate: it was 5.2 percent in January, up from 4.9 percent in December. Gainesville has again the state's lowest jobless rate, checking in at 4.8 percent for the first month of the year.

From the Georgia Dept of Labor…

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced today that Metro Athens’ unemployment rate in January was 5.2 percent, up two-tenths of a percentage point from 5 percent in December. In January 2016, the rate was 4.9 percent.

The rate rose as the number of jobs declined, while new layoffs increased. These are normal seasonal fluctuations for January.

The number of jobs decreased by 200, or 0.2 percent, to 93,700. Job losses came mostly in local government.

However, over the year, 1,600 jobs were added, a 1.7 percent growth rate, up from 92,100 in January 2016. Most of the job growth came in the service industries, including retail trade, leisure and hospitality, along with state government.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, rose by 275, or 63.8 percent, to 706. Most of the increase came in administrative and support services, along with trade, transportation and warehousing. However, over the year, claims were down by 15, or 2.1 percent, from 721 in January 2016.

The labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed, but actively looking for jobs, declined by 999 to 97,571. The number of unemployed residents rose by 221 to 5,065, while the number of employed residents increased by 778 to 92,506. Over the year, the number of people in the labor force increased by 2,224, as the number of employed grew by 1,851 and the number of unemployed increased by 373.

Metro Gainesville and the Georgia Mountains region had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.8 percent, while the Three Rivers region had the highest at 7.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for January was 5.5 percent, unchanged from a revised 5.5 percent in December. It was 5.6 percent in January 2016.