Georgia's Unemployment Rate Hit Record Low Rate In March

By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square Georgia

(The Center Square) – Georgia’s unemployment rate in March dropped to an all-time low of 3.1%, down from February’s revised rate of 3.2%, as the number of employed Georgians also hit a record high.

The state’s unemployment rate was below the national unemployment rate of 3.6% in March, while the number of employed Georgians increased by 17,667 in March to more than 5 million.

State officials also announced the labor force hit an all-time high of more than 5.2 million, up 16,498 over the month. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed decreased by 1,169 to 165,045, the lowest since June 2001.

"Wages and benefits are having to be increased because of a very tight labor market, and we are now seeing the highest number of Georgians ever employed and participating in the workforce," Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in an announcement. "And with a record number of jobs being created, we have a situation where this will continue to be the case for the immediate future."

In addition to the employment increases, Georgians also saw their wages increase. Between February 2020 and February 2022, the average increased by more than 9%.

"Many of the sectors that weathered significant hardships during the pandemic are now having to offer higher wages and better benefit packages to get employees into open positions enabling them to do business," Butler said. "The cost of labor is being recouped by rising costs for consumers, which is one of the major drivers causing our current increase in inflation. Inflation will be long lasting, if not permanent, when driven by an increase in wages."

The focus of the work of The Center Square Georgia is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.