Unemployment rates up in Albany, Southwest Georgia

ALBANY — The Georgia Department of Labor announced recently that metro Albany’s unemployment rate in December was 6.1 percent, up from 5.8 percent in November. At the same time, the unemployment rate in the Southwest Georgia region in December was 6 percent, up from 5.7 percent the previous month.

In December 2015, the metro Albany rate was also 6.1 percent while the Southwest Georgia rate was 5.9 percent.

The metro Albany rate rose as the labor force grew and the number of new layoffs increased. The MSA’s labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, grew by 140 people, officials with the Labor Department said.

The number of unemployed residents in metro Albany rose by 193 to 4,180, while the number of employed residents declined by 53 to 64,341.

Labor officials said the number of initial claims in metro Albany for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, rose by 37.8 percent in December. Most of the increase came in administrative and support services, manufacturing and construction.

Over the year, claims were down by 250, or 31.8 percent, from December 2015. The number of jobs in Albany decreased by 300, or .5 percent, to 63,500, mostly in trade, transportation and warehousing.

“Overall what we see was more people coming in (the work force) , however, we did have fewer people employed during the month of December,” said state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.

Over the year, 1,200 metro Albany jobs were added, a 1.9 percent growth rate, from 62,300 in December 2015. Labor officials said most of the job growth came in the service industries, such as retail trade and government, along with the goods-producing sector, which includes construction and manufacturing.

“We actually ended 2016 on a good note,” said Aaron Johnson, assistant professor of economics at Albany State University. “Even though the unemployment rate increased to 6.1 percent, I attribute most of that to more people entering the labor force. Typically, a more healthy job market leads to more people looking for jobs. On the other hand, we have experienced consistent job growth which is a stark contrast to last year.

“For the last three quarters of the year, we have averaged around 2 percent year-to-year job growth for most of the year, whereas it was near 0 percent in 2015. Additionally, our job growth ranked in the top half of the state. I attribute more jobs in the local economy to a strengthening local housing market and relatively low gas prices.”

In Southwest Georgia, the rate rose as the number of unemployed residents, labor force and number of new layoffs increased, labor officials said.

There were 449 more unemployed residents in Southwest Georgia, and the labor force grew by 167 to 152,062. The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 26.6 percent in December, mostly in administrative and support services, along with manufacturing and construction.

Over the year, unemployment claims were down in Southwest Georgia by 34.8 percent from December 2015. A breakdown of unemployment rates by county for December shows Dougherty at 6.7 percent, Worth at 5.6 percent, Lee at 4.6 percent, Terrell at 6.5 percent and Baker at 7.8 percent.

Major events in Southwest Georgia that might potentially impact future numbers are the two storms that hit the area on Jan. 2 and Jan. 22.

“Employment data is lagged, so we do not have any updated data resulting from the two huge storms that hit our area,” Johnson said. “I would expect that it will negatively impact our numbers initially in 2017, but hopefully we’ll recover in the latter half of the year. As long as housing continues its momentum and wages rise at a similar rate as last year, I’m guardedly optimistic about prospects in the latter part of the year.”

Of the 14 metro areas in Georgia, the Gainesville area had the lowest unemployment rate for December at 4.2 percent, while the Columbus area has the highest rate at 6.3 percent. The 11 regional areas had unemployment rates ranging from 4.5 percent in the Georgia Mountains area to 6.6 percent in both the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha and River Valley areas.

Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for December was 5.4 percent, up from 5.3 percent in November. It was 5.5 percent in December 2015.