- Collection:
- Georgia Government Publications
- Serial:
- News release (Georgia Department of Labor)
- Title:
- News release, Oct. 21, 1999
- Creator:
- Georgia. Department of Labor
- Contributor to Resource:
- Georgia. Department of Labor.
- Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Dept. of Labor, 1999-10-21
- Date of Original:
- 1999-10-21
- Subject:
- Georgia. Department of Labor--Periodicals
Labor--Georgia--Periodicals - Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- state government records
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- Title from caption
Each issue also has a distinctive theme title - External Identifiers:
- Call Number GA L200 .P1 N45 1999/10-21
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_ggpd_i-ga-bl200-b-pp1-bn45-b1999-s10-h21-belec-p-btext
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do:dlg_ggpd_i-ga-bl200-b-pp1-bn45-b1999-s10-h21-belec-p-btext
- Language:
- eng
- Holding Institution:
- University of Georgia. Map and Government Information Library
- Rights:
-
Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release
Georgia Department of
Labor
Suite 642 148 International Boulevard N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1751 (404)656-3032
October 21, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GEORGIA'S 4.0 PERCENT JOBLESS RATE LOWEST EVER FOR SEPTEMBER
ATLANTA -- State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said today that Georgia's 4.0 percent unemployment rate in September was the lowest ever recorded for that month. The rate was up slightly from 3.9 percent in August, but down from 4.3 percent in September 1998.
"Historically-low unemployment rates have spawned a tight job market and labor shortages of skilled workers all over the state," Thurmond said. "I agree with Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Alan Greenspan that these labor shortages could lead to bidding wars, as employers compete for each other's skilled workers. This could drive up salaries and lead to an inflationary period. For example, the average weekly wage of some highly-skilled manufacturing workers in Georgia is up as much as 22 percent in the past year.
"This is an important opportunity for those who are not currently employed to join the workforce," the commissioner continued. "I encourage the thousands of Georgians who are not in the mainstream of the job market, such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities and former welfare recipients, to compete in our workforce and take some of the pressure off the tight job market. If they need to learn new skills, training is available. Once they've gained those skills, the opportunities will be there, because our state continues to add new jobs each month and we need new workers."
During the past year, jobs have increased to 3,896,900, up 122,600, a growth rate of 3.2 percent.
In September, 24,600 more jobs were added, with almost 20,000 of those among seasonal workers who returned to jobs at public schools after either being off for the summer or on other jobs.
New jobs were added in all seven of the state's major metropolitan areas. The metro areas and
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Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release
their job increases from August to September are as follows: -- Albany, 59,300, up 300, or five-tenths percent.
-- Athens, 75,100, up 900, or 1.2 percent.
-- Atlanta, 2,134,000, up 13,500, or six-tenths percent.
-- Augusta, 198,800, up 1,200, or six-tenths percent.
-- Columbus, 122,500, up 500, or four-tenths percent.
-- Macon, 149,900, up 1,100, or seven-tenths percent.
-- Savannah, 137,600, up 100, or one-tenth percent.
Labor market data are now available on the Georgia Department of Labor's web site at www.dol. state.ga.us
NEWS MEDIA NEEDING MORE INFORMATION MAY CALL (404) 656-3032.
E-mail: communications@dol.state.ga.us.
FY-00-212
Click here to receive additional labor market data by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Adobe .PDF format.
Requires Adobe Acrobat to read file. Download from http://www.adobe.com.
An Equal Opportunity Employer
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