Business & Tech

Metro Atlanta's jobless rate rises slightly to 8.6%

Jobless rate rose in the month of May

The recent jobs report that was released showed that Metro Atlanta had a small increase in the number of unemployed in the month of May.

We in metro Atlanta moved from 8.5% to 8.6%, which is not a large increase at all, but times are so desperate that the number is not a good indicator of how the summer could go.  The good news is that last year the number was 9.5%, so this summer we are definitely in a better position than we were a year ago.

There are usually 2 sides to to looking at jobless numbers.  I call them The Dreamers and The Realists.  The Realists say that if you go down to the Unemployment Office on Martin Luther King, you will talk to people that are fed up with searching for jobs and say they are just going to stop searching.  The Realist says that these people are no longer counted in the Jobless Percentage, because they basically go unaccounted for after they give up searching for jobs and give up using the services of the unemployment office.  So to the Realist, the number is much higher than 8.6% once you account for all the people that have given up even trying.

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On the other-hand, the Dreamer sees that the unemployment rate has been steadily dropping since President Obama has been in office, and says if you go down to the DOL office you will see less angry and frustrated people as you would have seen 3 years ago when unemployment was at its worst. You see people shopping again and even taking vacations.  The Dreamer would say that the mood of country is better and feels a sort of recovery.

According to the official State Report:

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The rate increased because the labor force grew by 16,578 job seekers, and while most found jobs within the month, 6,008 did not. Also, there were 269 new layoffs in professional and technical services, educational services, health care and social assistance, and accommodations and food services.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.5 percent, while metro Dalton had the highest at 11.4 percent. Athens has had the lowest area rate, or tied for the lowest, each month since December 2009. Dalton has had the highest area rate since August 2011.


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