Peach Tree Times

Georgia’s economy continues to fire on all cylinders, with the unemployment rate having recently dropped below the pre-pandemic level.

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) recently said that Georgia's unemployment rate dropped down to 3.5% for the month of August, which is now lower than the rate of 3.6% the state recorded in March 2020 prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of unemployed Georgians, almost 182,000, fell below the pre-pandemic level of 187,000.

"Georgians are getting back to work and our economy continues to beat expectations," Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp said in a statement. "The Peach State now has fewer people unemployed than we did before the pandemic. This milestone is a testament to the resiliency of Georgia's job creators and our efforts to protect both lives and livelihoods over the last eighteen months. Since May, the state has seen a gain of over 71,000 jobs, and we've replaced eighty-three percent of the jobs lost during the first months of the pandemic last year."

Despite the lower unemployment numbers, the Georgian labor force is down 31,000 compared to numbers in March 2020 and the number of employed remains down 26,000 compared to pre-pandemic levels, GDOL said. 

"Job growth will become stagnant if we don’t fill the hundreds of thousands of jobs that we currently have open right now," Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said, according to the press release. "The unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed by the number of people in the labor force and that includes both the unemployed and the employed. We are not seeing the number of Georgians rejoin the labor force at the same pace as we are seeing employers post jobs and we are taking an in-depth look at why."

Hospitality, food services and retail trade sectors report that they are still struggling to fill empty positions. According to data collected by GDOL, employers blamed the workforce shortage on reasons including unemployment insurance benefits, employees not wanting to work and an unqualified workforce. Survey results also showed that 69% of employers have been raising benefits and increasing benefits to try and attract workers.

"We are hearing from employers who are raising salaries and enhancing benefits packages and are still not able to fill these jobs," Butler said. "Based on what we are seeing, it may take months, if not years, for the job market to return to some type of normalcy."

Local News 8 reported Georgia has been named the number No. 1 state to do business in the U.S. for the eighth year in a row by Site Selection Magazine.

"Our top-notch workforce development programs and pro-business environment, along with our strong logistics infrastructure, have further solidified the Peach State as the best place in the nation to live, work, raise a family, and start or grow a business," Kemp said in a statement, according to Local 8 News. "I thank our partners in both the public and private sectors, our world-class economic development team, and the hardworking Georgians throughout the state who helped us beat our own record with this unprecedented achievement." 

Georgia is the only state to have earned the Site Magazine distinction eight times in a row.