United States Employment Snapshot
In May, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 13, rose in 17, and remained unchanged in 21.
The highest unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2 percent in North Dakota and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 4 percent.
In May, payroll jobs rose in 42 states and fell in 9. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.9 percent in Idaho. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Minnesota.
Georgia Employment Snapshot
In May, Georgia added 9,200 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 3.2 percent. In the prior month, Georgia added 12,600 net payroll jobs.
Over the past 12 months, Georgia added 73,900 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 272,000 in May, or 0.2 percent. Georgia is tied for 27th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
In May, Georgia’s private sector added 7,400 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 50,300 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, Georgia added 14,200 net private payroll jobs.
In May, employment in Georgia rose by 14,311, and over the past 12 months it rose by 73,518.
Georgia’s labor force participation rate rose to 61.6 percent in May from 61.5 percent and ranks 36th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.1 percentage points.
Georgia Payroll Employment
Georgia added 9,200 net payroll jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, Georgia added 12,600 jobs. Georgia nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 8 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 272,000 in May, or 0.2 percent. Georgia is tied for 27th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
Georgia added 7,400 private sector jobs, or 0.2 percent. on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, Georgia added 14,200 jobs. Georgia private sector payroll employment has increased in 7 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 229,000 jobs in May, or 0.2 percent. Georgia is tied for 30th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.
The best performing sectors on a seasonally adjusted basis during May were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (3,000) and Education and Health Services (2,100).
The poorest performing sectors during the month were Manufacturing (-300) and Financial Activities (-400).
The best performing sectors during the last 12 months were Education and Health Services (24,100) and Government (23,600).
The poorest performing sectors during the last 12 months were Information (-9,700) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-11,600).
Georgia Labor Force
The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.
The labor force participation rate in Georgia rose to 61.6 percent in May from 61.5 percent in the prior month.
Georgia ranks 36th in the nation.
The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in Georgia was 64 percent occurring in August 2017, and the 10-year low was 59.5 percent in September 2020.
The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 62.5 percent in May.