Georgia’s unemployment rate now stands at a record low of 3.0%
Key Points
- Georgia is one of 14 states to fully recover from pandemic-related job loss.
- States with severest lockdown are still struggling.
- There’s been a decline in labor force participation.
Georgia’s unemployment rate now stands at a record low of 3.0% in May, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday.
The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “Georgia is now one of only 14 states in the U.S. that have fully recovered from pandemic-related job loss,” said Erik Randolph, GCO’s director of research. “The states that imposed the severest lockdown measures due to COVID-19 are still struggling, and likely will be for months to come. All told, Georgia is in excellent company as one of the top states in job recovery. That being said, it’s important to remember that unemployment rates can be misleading. Since the pandemic, we’ve witnessed an acceleration of the decline in the labor force participation rate. Particularly concerning is the persistent problem of prime-working-age males being absent from the labor force. The number is estimated to be around 250,000 men in Georgia in 2021. A major policy goal in our state must be efforts to reengage this men in the labor force.”
