The state of Georgia has started the year off on the right foot when it comes to the state's employment health.
State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler released the January 2020 jobs report Thursday morning, saying the number of employed Georgians was up 12,060 to almost 5 million, an all-time high. Labor statistics for the month also revealed a record number of jobs, exceeding 4.5 million.
"Significantly outpacing last year’s numbers, January 2020 labor statistics are reporting record data across the board,” said Butler. “The number of Georgians employed is the highest ever, the number of unemployed is the lowest since 2001, and EmployGeorgia.com is now listing over 101,000 on-line jobs available for Georgians today.”
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.1-percent, which equals an all-time low for Georgia. January 2020 came in 0.7 percentage points lower than last January’s rate of 3.8 percent.
In addition, Georgia began 2020 with a record-high 4,987,996 employed residents. January showed an increase of 12,060 since December 2019. This number has increased by 89,900 since January of 2019.
Jobs in Georgia were up 9,800 from the end of 2019 and were up 53,100 over the year, reaching an all-time high of 4,649,900.
Several sectors saw an increase in job activity among their industry in January 2020, according to Butler. The state added more than 1,500 jobs in three sectors:
- Trade, transportation, utilities – 3,100
- Leisure, hospitality – 2,000
- Education and health services – 1,800
"January 2020 labor statistics continue to show a strong job market in Georgia,” said Butler. “We are seeing a record number of online jobs on EmployGeorgia.com giving us the highest two-month figure on record.”
Georgia’s labor force was up 9,950 to 5,147,542, an all-time high for the state. This total was up 1.1 percentage points from this time last year.
Butler said he is concerned about workforce development, pointing out that Georgia will need more workers to fill the jobs that are being created.
