Finding Jobs in Atlanta Harder in February

Over the course of the last year, finding jobs in Atlanta has become increasingly difficult. In February the unemployment rate in the city rose 0.8 percent from January’s 8.6 percent to 9.3 percent, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. This is particularly significant when compared to the jobless rate of last year. In February of 2008, only 4.1 percent of the residents in the city that were actively looking for jobs were unable to find work.

The state as a whole saw a slightly higher increase in joblessness. In January 8.5 percent of Georgians were unable to find work, while February found 9.3 percent of residents without jobs.

Earlier this year economists from Georgia State University’s Economic Forecasting Center predicted that this year would see a drastic decrease in Atlanta jobs and positions elsewhere in the state. Before this year is up, the Center’s director Rajeev Dhawan believes that the city will lose 92,200 positions while the state will see the loss of a total of 143,100 jobs.

When Dhawan made the report public, he also predicted that the city’s unemployment rate would increase to somewhere around 9 percent before the end of this year. With Atlanta’s joblessness percentage already reaching over this, one can only wonder how difficult finding work will become before the end of the year.

These figures have the State Labor Commissioner, Michael Thurmond, very concerned. He believes that this data has no reached “Depression-era” levels.

“The latest local unemployment rates reflect the severity of the ongoing recession in Georgia,” Thurmond continued in a recent statement. “In 87 of our state’s 159 counties, double-digit unemployment is a sobering reality. A rising tide of joblessness is spreading across our state.”

The worst area for unemployment in the state was Jenkins County, which is a small area between Augusta and Statesboro. According to the State Labor Department, joblessness in the country reached 21.3 percent. Jenkins County has a total workforce of 2,762 people. Currently 589 of them are without work.

Judging by jobless rates, the best metro area to look for work in Georgia is Athens, where 7.3 percent of people are unemployed. As far as counties go, Oconee, which had a jobless rate of 6 percent, faired the best.
Similarly to Atlanta and the rest of the state of Georgia, the national unemployment rate also rose during February. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic data shows that joblessness increased 0.4 percent to 8.5 percent.