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 26, 1999 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CHATTAHOOCHEE-FLINT'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO 4.2 PERCENT IN JULY ATLANTA -- State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said today that the unemployment rate in the Chattahoochee-Flint Area rose to 4.2 percent in July, up from 4.1 percent in June. The area's jobless rate was 5.2 percent in July 1998. The rise in the rate was due largely to temporary layoffs among some workers who manufacture transportation equipment and fabricated metals. "In the Chattahoochee-Flint Area, as in other parts of the state, jobs are available for people with training and skills," Thurmond said. "However, there are far too many people who don't have the education and training necessary to fill many of the jobs that are available. At the same time, some area employers continue to suffer from a shortage of skilled workers. To address this mismatch, we need to reach the large pool of unskilled and low-skilled individuals who live in the area with education and training designed to meet the workforce needs of local employers." During the past year, employment in the Chattahoochee-Flint Area has increased to 128,557, up 2,845, a growth rate of 2.3 percent. In July, however, some 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 layoffs had no impact on the unemployment rate because most workers either have second jobs or use the annual layoffs 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. Georgia's 4.1 percent unemployment rate in July was the lowest recorded for that month in 28 file:///E|/pressrel%20from%201-98%20to%20present/a00111.htm (1 of 2)9/22/2004 12:19:04 PM Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release years. The rate was unchanged from June, but was down from 4.7 percent in July of 1998. 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-00-111 Click here for labor force data and graphs in Adobe .PDF format. Requires Adobe Acrobat to read file. Download from http://www.adobe.com. An Equal Opportunity Employer file:///E|/pressrel%20from%201-98%20to%20present/a00111.htm (2 of 2)9/22/2004 12:19:04 PM Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release Georgia Department of Labor Suite 642 148 International Boulevard N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1751 (404)656-3032 LABOR FORCE DATA and GRAPHS July, 1999 Statewide: Labor Force Data by State, Regional Development Center (RDC), Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), Cities over 10,000 population and County. Bar Graphs by Regional Development Centers (RDC): Atlanta Regional Commission: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties. Central Savannah River: Burke, Columbia, Emanuel, Glascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Screven, Taliaferro, Warren, Washington and Wilkes counties. Chattahoochee - Flint: Carroll, Coweta, Heard, Meriwether and Troup counties. Coastal Georgia: Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long and McIntosh counties. Coosa Valley: Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Paulding, Polk and Walker counties. Georgia Mountains: Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union and White counties. Heart of Georgia - Altamaha: Appling, Bleckley, Candler, Dodge, Evans, Jeff Davis, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Wayne, Wheeler and Wilcox counties. Lower Chattahoochee: Chattahoochee, Clay, Harris, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart and file:///E|/pressrel%20from%201-98%20to%20present/files/A0009x.htm (1 of 3)9/22/2004 12:19:05 PM Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release Talbot counties. McIntosh Trail: Butts, Lamar, Pike, Spalding and Upson counties. Middle Flint: Crisp, Dooly, Macon, Marion, Schley, Sumter, Taylor and Webster counties. Middle Georgia: Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Putnam, Twiggs and Wilkinson counties. North Georgia: Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield counties. Northeast Georgia: Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe and Walton counties. South Georgia: Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Tift and Turner counties. Southeast Georgia: Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Pierce and Ware counties. Southwest Georgia: Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas and Worth counties. Bar Graphs by Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA): Albany MSA: Dougherty and Lee counties. Athens MSA: Clarke, Madison and Oconee counties. Atlanta MSA: Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton counties. Augusta - Aiken, GA - SC MSA: Columbia, McDuffie and Richmond counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina. Columbus, GA - AL MSA: Chattahoochee, Harris and Muscogee counties in Georgia and Russell county in Alabama. Macon MSA: Bibb, Houston, Jones, Peach and Twiggs counties. file:///E|/pressrel%20from%201-98%20to%20present/files/A0009x.htm (2 of 3)9/22/2004 12:19:05 PM Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release Savannah MSA: Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties. FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL (404) 656-3032 E-mail: communications@dol.state.ga.us. An Equal Opportunity Employer file:///E|/pressrel%20from%201-98%20to%20present/files/A0009x.htm (3 of 3)9/22/2004 12:19:05 PM