Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release 
Georgia Department of 
Labor 
Suite 642  148 International Boulevard N.E. 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1751 (404)656-3032 
 
August 19, 1999 
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
 
GEORGIA'S 4.1 PERCENT JOBLESS RATE LOWEST FOR JULY IN 28 YEARS 
 
ATLANTA -- State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said today that Georgia's 4.1 percent unemployment rate in July was the lowest recorded for that month in 28 years. The rate was unchanged from June, but was down from 4.7 percent in July of 1998. 
 
"Georgia continues to have low unemployment and steady job growth," said Thurmond. "Jobs are 
plentiful for people with training and skills, but there are far too many people who don't have the training and education necessary to fill many of the jobs that are available. This means that our employers continue to suffer from a shortage of skilled workers. One way to address the labor shortage is to bring thousands of discouraged workers who are not in the mainstream of employment back into the fold and develop a workforce with the skills to meet today's needs." 
 
During the past year, nonfarm jobs have increased to 3,844,900, up 114,600, or a 3.1 percent growth rate. In July, however, more than 20,000 seasonal jobs at state and local schools were temporarily lost, as non-teaching personnel, such as school bus drivers and cafeteria and maintenance workers, were laid off for the summer. The lay offs had no impact on the unemployment rate because most workers either have second jobs or use the annual lay off for vacations and don't consider themselves to be unemployed. In fact, many of them have already returned to work for the new school year. 
 
All of the state's seven metropolitan areas gained jobs during the past 12 months. The increases and percentages from July 1998 to July 1999 are as follows: 
 
-- Albany, 59,800, up 900, or 1.5 percent. 
 
-- Athens, 71,400, up 300, or four-tenths percent. 
 
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 Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release 
 
-- Atlanta, 2,104,900, up 72,600, or 3.6 percent. 
 
-- Augusta, 197,500, up 2,300, or 1.2 percent. 
 
-- Columbus, 122,200, up 3,700, or 3.1 percent. 
 
-- Macon, 148,100, up 600, or four-tenths percent. 
 
-- Savannah, 136,000, up 4,000, or 3.0 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-00-090 
 
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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