Unemployment figures for March show decrease in Albany, Southwest Georgia

ALBANY — The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that metro Albany’s unemployment rate for March was 7.2 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from 7.5 percent in February. At the same time, the Southwest Georgia region’s unemployment rate was 7.1 percent, down from 7.4 percent the previous month.

The metro Albany and Southwest Georgia rates in March 2014 were 8.7 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.

The figures released Thursday indicate that, of the 14 metro areas tracked by the Labor Department, Albany had the highest unemployment rate for March.

“In the Albany area, we saw the unemployment rate decrease down to 7.2 percent,” said Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “However, the best news is the over the year change, which we saw an improvement in the Albany area with the rate being almost a point-and-a-half less today that it was 12 months ago.”

While addressing the reason for the decline, Butler said: “Well, mainly it has to do with the fact that there are less people unemployed right now in the Albany area, and over the year, Albany has 700 more people employed today than there were 12 months ago.”

The metro area rate declined as the number of unemployed residents decreased by 200 from 4,928 in February. The rate declined in the region as the number of unemployed residents decreased by 409 from 10,685 in the month prior, partially because employers laid off fewer workers, officials with the Labor Department said.

“While we do not have seasonally adjusted numbers for unemployment, Albany’s unemployment rate is converging with the state, so that is also promising,” said Aaron Johnson, assistant professor of economics at Darton State College. “Having said that, our unemployment rate remains the highest in the state when compared with other metro areas.”

The number of jobs in Albany was unchanged at 61,400 from February to March. There was an over-the-year gain of 700 jobs, or 1.2 percent, from March 2014. Most of the job growth came in the private sector, including the service-related industries, officials said.

“We’re starting to see improvement, though still lagging the state and U.S. growth rate,” Johnson said. “After seasonally adjusting the numbers, we have seen a 1.1 percent (change) for the last two months. That is an improvement over last year where we saw little to no job growth. Most of the growth is occurring within the service providing sectors, which includes health care and the finance industries.”

In metro Albany, there were nine, or 1.6 percent, more new claims for unemployment insurance filed in March, as the number increased to 569 from 560 in February. Most of the increase in claims came in wholesale and retail trade. Over the year, claims were down by 22, or 3.7 percent, from 591 filed in March 2014.

In Southwest Georgia overall, there were 4.1 percent fewer new claims for unemployment insurance filed in March, as the number declined to 1,108 from 1,155 in February. Most of the decrease in claims came in real estate, rental and leasing, along with transportation and warehousing. Over the year, claims were down by 23, or 2 percent, from 1,131 filed in March of last year, labor officials said.

Of the metro areas tracked, Gainesville had the lowest at 4.9 percent, while Dalton and Rome were just below Albany with unemployment rates of 7 percent. Of the 11 regional areas tracked, the Georgia Mountains area had the lowest rate at 5.2 percent, with the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7.8 percent.

Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for March was 6.3 percent, unchanged from February. It was 7.3 percent in March 2014.