Georgia unemployment rate posts slight increase in May

ATLANTA — Georgia’s unemployment rate rose slightly last month to 3.2% after holding steady at 3.1% for the previous nine months, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.

Still, the Peach State’s jobless rate in May was half a percentage point lower than the national unemployment rate of 3.7%

“Despite a slight uptick in Georgia’s unemployment rate, claims were down over the month with jobs hitting another all-time high,” state Commissioner of Labor Bruce Thompson said. “While it is too early to tell if we are on the verge of an economic correction, my administration will closely monitor our state’s unemployment numbers for any emerging trends.”

The number of jobs was up by 14,000 last month to an all-time high of 4.9 million. Job sectors setting records included the 661,800 Georgians working in private education and health services, the leisure and hospitality sector with 521,100 jobs, and financial activities with 281,600 jobs.

First-time unemployment claims fell by 6% from April to 24,002 in May. However, initial claims over the year were up by 43% over May of 2022.

More than 122,000 job listings were online for Georgians to access. The top five occupations for job listings were health care with 23,500 jobs listed, sales with 14,000 jobs, business management and operations with 12,500 jobs, and the hospitality, food and tourism sector with 11,500.