Georgia’s economic report released late last week reveals the state continues to have low unemployment numbers. The state added more than 14,000 non-farm related jobs in May — and employment is up more than 118,000 over the last year. But for the first time, the unemployment numbers have gone up after a downward trend for several months.

The Peach State sits at 3.2% — which is lower than the national unemployment average of 3.7%. But, the state’s labor commissioner says all regions in the state – reported a rise in unemployment rates in May. Last year, at this time, the state’s unemployment rate was 2.9%.

The labor commissioner says that the state continues to prioritize new jobs in the agriculture and electric vehicle and infrastructure space.

Bruce Thompson, State Labor Commissioner, said “An industry that goes hand in hand. It’s a different kind of power like solar and electric – we are moving away from fossil fuel. Our state has been focused and we are poised to be the #1 state moving forward.”

The commissioner says, while one month is not a trend, the administration is looking at the labor market to identify new developments, the labor force and the state’s economy – and have lawmakers fund rural internet and make housing more affordable.

“State’s all over the country are struggling with affordable housing. Georgia came out with a $2 billion surplus and we had the opportunity to return that money back – so whether you are going to Cartersville or Gainesville or Savannah – you are seeing more smaller homes popping up.”

The state has 24,000 unemployment insurance claims currently and is reinstating the employer-filed partial claims to reflect the amended Georgia employment security rule. This is due to an increase in fraud nationally — and the department has added more safeguards to protect taxpayers and employers.

WSAV