November 2003 Data Highlights Total employment in Georgia approaching 4 million... ............page 2 As we begin the holiday season, Georgia retailers lead the way in this month's total job growth. Unemployment dropped to lowest level in more than two years ...............Page 8 Civilian employment rose to its highest level ever in November. All MSAs and most of the counties followed the statewide downward trend this month. New developments .................. Page 14 Volume XXIX, Number 11 Data Tables 3 Georgia Nonagricultural Employment 4 Atlanta Nonagricultural Employment 5 Albany & Athens Nonagricultural Employment 6 Augusta-Aiken & Columbus Nonagricultural Employment 7 Macon & Savannah Nonagricultural Employment 9 Georgia, Metro Areas & U.S. Labor Force Estimates 10 Georgia Labor Force Estimates by County 15 Georgia Unemployment Rates by County 16 Georgia Unemployment Insurance Claims by County Initial claims down in November... Page 17 Figure represents lowest total of initial claims filings since October 2000. WI&A Customer Satisfaction Team .................. page 19 Michael L. Thurmond, Commissioner Georgia Department of Labor Workforce Information & Analysis 148 Andrew Young International Blvd., N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1751 (404) 232-3875 Fax (404) 232-3888 Workforce_Info@dol.state.ga.us Equal Opportunity Employer/Program Auxiliary Aids and Services Available upon Request to Individuals with Disabilities November Employment Situation In November, Georgia's total nonfarm employment increased by 7,000 jobs over the month. Over the year, the employment level of the state has gone up by 1.6 percent (+62,600 jobs). November's employment level stands at 3,993,200 total jobs statewide. If the state stays on its current trend of positive job growth, Georgia is poised to top the 4 million mark in total payroll employment in the coming months. Because retailers have started to hire for the holiday season, the upturn in monthly employment is largely due to job growth in the Retail Trade industry, a subcomponent of the Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector whereas the growth in over-the-year employment is primarily a result of the jobs gained in the Professional and Business Services sector. The Construction sector displayed an over-the-month decrease in employment of 3,000 jobs in November. Though there was an employment decrease over-the-month, there are 17,200 more jobs in the sector over the year. The Construction of Buildings, Heavy and Civil Engineering, and Specialty Trade Contractors industries, respectively, lost 300, 500, and 2,200 jobs over the month. The Manufacturing sector displayed a modest monthly gain of 100 jobs in November. Though there was an improvement in monthly employment, over the year the sector has lost 22,000 jobs. Monthly payroll employment in Durable Goods manufacturing dropped by 1,100 jobs while Non-Durable Goods manufacturing gained 1,200 employees. In November, the Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector picked up an additional 16,500 employees. This was the fourth consecutive month of job growth for the sector. The month's rise in employment for the sector is extensively due to the seasonal growth in Retail Trade. The Wholesale Trade industry and the Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities industry each picked up 500 employees while the Retail Trade industry added 15,500 jobs. Current statewide retail employment stands at 481,500 total employees. Reviewing Novembers of the last decade, this month's total Retail Trade employment level is second only to November 2000. November retail trade employment 1990 -- 2003 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0 Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 The Information sector posted a monthly increase of 500 jobs in November. The sector currently has 1,000 more jobs than at the same time a year ago. For the month, the Cable and other Subscription Programming industry added 100 jobs, the Telecommunications industry added an additional 600 workers, and the Internet Service Providers industry picked up 100 employees. After last month's loss in payroll employment, the Financial Activities sector experienced an over-the-month employment increase of 1,800 jobs in November. Over the year the sector has added 1,900 jobs. For the month, the Financial and Insurance industry experienced a payroll increase of 1,400 jobs while the Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing industry picked up an additional 400 employees. 2 Over the month, employment in the Professional and Business Services sector was down 3,500 employees. The sector, however, has 37,300 more workers (an increase of 7.2%) this November than in November last year. The sector has suffered its first monthly employment decline since January. Much of the monthly loss, as well as the over-the-year gain, is concentrated in the Administrative Support, Waste Management and Remediation industry. This industry, which includes employment placement, landscape, travel arrangement, and security/investigation businesses, just to name a few, lost 6,000 jobs over the month but presently has 32,300 more workers than last November. Professional & business services employment November 2002 -- November 2003 570,000 560,000 550,000 540,000 530,000 520,000 510,000 500,000 490,000 2002 2003 Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov The Education and Health Services sector displayed over-themonth employment growth of 800 jobs that translates into an over-the-year upturn of 6,300 jobs. The Educational Service industry lost 600 workers for the month and 4,200 since November last year. Health Care and Social Assistance payrolls went up by 1,400 employees for the month, which represents an over-theyear addition of 10,500 jobs. From an employment perspective, the Leisure and Hospitality sector looks better in November this year than it did in November of last year. The sector increased its over-the-year total payroll employment by 1,500 employees. For the month, however, the sector has lost 3,500 jobs; the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation industry added 200 more workers and the Accommodation and Food Services industry lost 3,700 employees. Monthly employment in the Government sector retracted by 800 jobs in November. There are, nonetheless, 3,500 more government workers in November of this year than in November a year ago. Federal Government employment fell by 500 and 2,900 jobs for the month and year; State Government payrolls have dropped by 400 and 4,100 jobs for the month and year; and Local Governments across that state have picked up 100 more employees overthe-month and have 10,500 more employees on their payrolls this November than last November. In conclusion, the total number of workers in Georgia continued to rise in November and is slowly approaching 4 million. Anchored by the seasonal increase in retail employment, the holiday season brings with it a positive view of the total employment situation for the state. Will the state continue its current rate of employment growth and top the 4 million mark? We can only wait and see. For more information, please contact Corey Smith at (404) 232-3875 or (800) 338-2082 Fax (404) 232-3888 Email: Corey.Smith@dol.state.ga.us Georgia Nonagricultural Employment (000s) Preliminary NOV 2003 Revised OCT 2003 Revised NOV 2002 Change in Jobs from OCT 2003 Net % Change in Jobs from NOV 2002 Net % Total nonfarm Total private 3,993.2 3,352.7 3,986.2 3,344.9 3,930.6 3,293.6 +7.0 +0.2 +7.8 +0.2 +62.6 +1.6 +59.1 +1.8 Goods producing Service-providing Natural resources and mining 676.1 3,317.1 11.9 678.9 3,307.3 11.8 680.7 3,249.9 11.7 -2.8 -0.4 +9.8 +0.3 +.1 +0.8 -4.6 +67.2 +.2 -0.7 +2.1 +1.7 Construction 214.5 217.5 197.3 -3.0 -1.4 +17.2 +8.7 Construction of buildings Heavy and civil engineering construction Specialty trade contractors 48.4 32.0 134.1 48.7 32.5 136.3 45.3 31.8 120.2 -.3 -0.6 -.5 -1.5 -2.2 -1.6 +3.1 +6.8 +.2 +0.6 +13.9 +11.6 Manufacturing Durable goods Wood product manufacturing Transportation equipment manufacturing 449.7 196.9 20.6 34.6 449.6 198.0 20.5 34.8 471.7 204.5 25.3 37.1 +.1 +0.0 -1.1 -0.6 +.1 +0.5 -.2 -0.6 -22.0 -7.6 -4.7 -2.5 -4.7 -3.7 -18.6 -6.7 Non-durable goods Food manufacturing Textile mills 252.8 67.8 35.4 251.6 66.8 34.7 267.2 68.9 37.8 +1.2 +0.5 +1.0 +1.5 +.7 +2.0 -14.4 -5.4 -1.1 -1.6 -2.4 -6.3 Trade, transportation and utilities 851.8 835.3 846.2 +16.5 +2.0 +5.6 +0.7 Wholesale trade Retail trade Food and beverage stores 201.0 481.5 77.3 200.5 466.0 77.2 203.8 469.2 80.7 +.5 +0.2 +15.5 +3.3 +.1 +0.1 -2.8 +12.3 -3.4 -1.4 +2.6 -4.2 General merchandise stores Transportation, warehousing and utilities Utilities Transportation and warehousing 92.7 169.3 20.0 149.3 88.9 168.8 19.9 148.9 94.6 173.2 20.4 152.8 +3.8 +4.3 +.5 +0.3 +.1 +0.5 +.4 +0.3 -1.9 -2.0 -3.9 -2.3 -.4 -2.0 -3.5 -2.3 Air transportation Truck transportation Couriers and messengers 38.4 38.4 45.4 45.7 18.9 18.7 40.9 +.0 +0.0 -2.5 -6.1 45.6 -.3 -0.7 -.2 -0.4 18.2 +.2 +1.1 +.7 +3.8 Warehousing and storage 23.4 22.9 25.1 +.5 +2.2 -1.7 -6.8 Information Cable and other subscription programming Telecommunications 129.2 5.9 55.1 128.7 5.8 54.5 128.2 5.8 54.9 +.5 +0.4 +.1 +1.7 +.6 +1.1 +1.0 +0.8 +.1 +1.7 +.2 +0.4 Wired telecommunications carriers Wireless telecommunications carriers Internet service providers, search portals & DP Financial activities 31.5 16.7 20.7 214.6 31.4 16.0 20.6 212.8 32.8 14.9 20.1 212.7 +.1 +0.3 +.7 +4.4 +.1 +0.5 +1.8 +0.8 -1.3 -4.0 +1.8 +12.1 +.6 +3.0 +1.9 +0.9 Finance and insurance Insurance carriers and related activities Real Estate, rental and leasing 156.1 68.0 58.5 154.7 67.6 58.1 154.9 65.8 57.8 +1.4 +0.9 +.4 +0.6 +.4 +0.7 +1.2 +0.8 +2.2 +3.3 +.7 +1.2 Professional and business services 558.8 562.3 521.5 -3.5 -0.6 +37.3 +7.2 Professional, scientific and technical services Accounting, tax preparation and bookkeeping Architectural, engineering and related services 192.2 29.0 32.0 189.6 29.2 29.4 187.5 27.3 33.8 +2.6 +1.4 -.2 -0.7 +2.6 +8.8 +4.7 +2.5 +1.7 +6.2 -1.8 -5.3 Computer systems design and related services Management, scientific and technical services Management of companies and enterprises Admin and support, waste mngmnt and remediation 45.5 24.3 75.6 291.0 45.1 24.0 75.7 297.0 43.4 23.6 75.3 258.7 +.4 +0.9 +.3 +1.3 -.1 -0.1 -6.0 -2.0 +2.1 +.7 +.3 +32.3 +4.8 +3.0 +0.4 +12.5 Employment services Educational and health services Educational services 156.0 388.3 58.0 157.7 387.5 58.6 133.3 382.0 62.2 -1.7 -1.1 +.8 +0.2 -.6 -1.0 +22.7 +17.0 +6.3 +1.6 -4.2 -6.8 Colleges, universities, and professional schools 15.5 15.2 17.8 +.3 +2.0 -2.3 -12.9 Health care and social assistance Hospitals Nursing and residential care facilities 330.3 111.4 51.5 328.9 110.9 51.8 319.8 106.5 49.3 +1.4 +0.4 +.5 +0.5 -.3 -0.6 +10.5 +3.3 +4.9 +4.6 +2.2 +4.5 Social assistance Leisure and hospitality Arts, entertainment, and recreation Accommodation and food services 45.0 337.2 36.9 300.3 44.6 340.7 36.7 304.0 46.4 335.7 36.3 299.4 +.4 +0.9 -3.5 -1.0 +.2 +0.5 -3.7 -1.2 -1.4 -3.0 +1.5 +0.4 +.6 +1.7 +.9 +0.3 Food services and drinking places Other services Government 263.6 196.7 640.5 267.2 198.7 641.3 260.4 186.6 637.0 -3.6 -1.3 -2.0 -1.0 -.8 -0.1 +3.2 +1.2 +10.1 +5.4 +3.5 +0.5 Federal government 94.3 94.8 97.2 -.5 -0.5 -2.9 -3.0 Department of defense State government State govt education 32.8 151.5 58.8 32.8 151.9 57.8 33.6 155.6 60.4 +.0 +0.0 -.4 -0.3 +1.0 +1.7 -.8 -2.4 -4.1 -2.6 -1.6 -2.6 Local government Local govt education 394.7 244.3 394.6 243.4 384.2 234.4 +.1 +0.0 +.9 +0.4 +10.5 +2.7 +9.9 +4.2 Note: The data included in this release reflect the conversion from the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. Unlike the previous publication structure under SIC, the new published series are not additive. These preliminary estimates were prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, based upon monthly reports submitted by selected employers throughout Georgia. The estimates include all full- and part-time wage and salary workers who were employed during or received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the twelfth of the month. Proprietors, domestic workers, self-employed persons, unpaid family workers and personnel of the armed forces are excluded. Estimates based on 2002 benchmark. Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Workforce Information & Analysis 3 Atlanta Nonagricultural Employment (000s) Preliminary NOV 2003 Revised OCT 2003 Revised NOV 2002 Change in Jobs from OCT 2003 Net % Change in Jobs from NOV 2002 Net % Total nonfarm Total private Goods producing Service-providing Natural resources and mining Construction Construction of buildings Specialty trade contractors Manufacturing Durable goods Computer and electronic products Transportation equipment manufacturing Non-durable goods Food manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Wholesale trade Retail trade Food and beverage stores General merchandise stores Transportation, warehousing and utilities Utilities Transportation and warehousing Air transportation Truck transportation Couriers and messengers Warehousing and storage Information Cable and other subscription programming Telecommunications Wired telecommunications carriers Wireless telecommunications carriers Financial activities Finance and insurance Insurance carriers and related activities Real estate, rental and leasing Professional and business services Professional, scientific and technical services Accounting, tax preparation, and bookkeeping Architectural, engineering and related services Computer systems design and related services Management, scientific and technical services Management of companies and enterprises Admin and support, waste mngmnt and remediation Employment services Educational and health services Health care and social assistance Hospitals Social assistance Leisure and hospitality Arts, entertainment and recreation Accommodation and food services Food services and drinking places Other services Government Federal government State government Local government 2,254.7 1,958.8 291.5 1,963.2 1.8 125.8 29.0 78.8 163.9 77.6 13.5 9.6 86.3 27.9 500.1 134.0 257.5 41.4 46.2 108.6 10.4 98.2 37.4 25.4 14.6 9.7 102.5 4.8 45.2 26.6 14.9 147.9 107.6 47.6 40.3 392.2 148.3 18.7 25.4 33.4 19.8 57.7 186.2 96.5 212.4 174.1 59.6 25.3 200.0 25.4 174.6 154.0 112.2 295.9 46.0 55.5 194.4 2,245.7 1,950.1 291.8 1,953.9 1.8 127.3 30.0 79.3 162.7 77.7 13.5 9.6 85.0 27.4 491.0 131.6 250.9 41.4 44.1 108.5 10.5 98.0 37.4 25.7 14.4 9.5 102.0 4.8 44.8 26.6 14.2 147.0 106.7 47.3 40.3 391.7 146.1 18.8 24.4 33.0 19.1 57.5 188.1 95.5 212.4 173.3 59.2 25.2 200.5 25.3 175.2 155.2 113.7 295.6 46.5 55.3 193.8 2,186.6 1,895.3 289.7 1,896.9 1.7 117.1 26.7 73.5 170.9 82.1 14.0 12.7 88.8 24.5 509.8 139.8 257.2 43.3 49.2 112.8 10.5 102.3 39.6 25.4 14.0 11.4 99.7 4.8 44.2 27.6 12.9 145.3 105.2 46.6 40.1 360.3 141.9 18.2 26.2 32.5 19.2 56.2 162.2 79.2 201.5 163.8 56.1 26.2 190.3 23.2 167.1 144.0 98.7 291.3 47.8 58.2 185.3 +9.0 +0.4 +8.7 +0.4 -.3 -0.1 +9.3 +0.5 +.0 +0.0 -1.5 -1.2 -1.0 -3.3 -.5 -0.6 +1.2 +0.7 -.1 -0.1 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +1.3 +1.5 +.5 +1.8 +9.1 +1.9 +2.4 +1.8 +6.6 +2.6 +.0 +0.0 +2.1 +4.8 +.1 +0.1 -.1 -1.0 +.2 +0.2 +.0 +0.0 -.3 -1.2 +.2 +1.4 +.2 +2.1 +.5 +0.5 +.0 +0.0 +.4 +0.9 +.0 +0.0 +.7 +4.9 +.9 +0.6 +.9 +0.8 +.3 +0.6 +.0 +0.0 +.5 +0.1 +2.2 +1.5 -.1 -0.5 +1.0 +4.1 +.4 +1.2 +.7 +3.7 +.2 +0.3 -1.9 -1.0 +1.0 +1.0 +.0 +0.0 +.8 +0.5 +.4 +0.7 +.1 +0.4 -.5 -0.2 +.1 +0.4 -.6 -0.3 -1.2 -0.8 -1.5 -1.3 +.3 +0.1 -.5 -1.1 +.2 +0.4 +.6 +0.3 +68.1 +63.5 +1.8 +66.3 +.1 +8.7 +2.3 +5.3 -7.0 -4.5 -.5 -3.1 -2.5 +3.4 -9.7 -5.8 +.3 -1.9 -3.0 -4.2 -.1 -4.1 -2.2 +.0 +.6 -1.7 +2.8 +.0 +1.0 -1.0 +2.0 +2.6 +2.4 +1.0 +.2 +31.9 +6.4 +.5 -.8 +.9 +.6 +1.5 +24.0 +17.3 +10.9 +10.3 +3.5 -.9 +9.7 +2.2 +7.5 +10.0 +13.5 +4.6 -1.8 -2.7 +9.1 +3.1 +3.4 +0.6 +3.5 +5.9 +7.4 +8.6 +7.2 -4.1 -5.5 -3.6 -24.4 -2.8 +13.9 -1.9 -4.1 +0.1 -4.4 -6.1 -3.7 -1.0 -4.0 -5.6 +0.0 +4.3 -14.9 +2.8 +0.0 +2.3 -3.6 +15.5 +1.8 +2.3 +2.1 +0.5 +8.9 +4.5 +2.7 -3.1 +2.8 +3.1 +2.7 +14.8 +21.8 +5.4 +6.3 +6.2 -3.4 +5.1 +9.5 +4.5 +6.9 +13.7 +1.6 -3.8 -4.6 +4.9 Note: The data included in this release reflect the conversion from the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. Unlike the previous publication structure under SIC, the new published series are not additive. These preliminary estimates were prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, based upon monthly reports submitted by selected employers in the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton counties. The estimates include all full- and part-time wage and salary workers who were employed during or received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the twelfth of the month. Proprietors, domestic workers, self-employed persons, unpaid family workers and personnel of the armed forces are excluded. Estimates based on 2002 benchmark. Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Workforce Information & Analysis 4 Albany Nonagricultural Employment (000s) Preliminary NOV 2003 Revised OCT 2003 Revised NOV 2002 Change in Jobs from OCT 2003 Net % Change in Jobs from NOV 2002 Net % Total nonfarm Total private Goods producing Service-providing Natural resources, mining and construction Manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Wholesale trade Retail trade Transportation, warehousing and utilities Information Financial activities Professional and business services Educational and health services Leisure and hospitality Other services Government Federal government State and local government 59.1 58.8 47.4 47.2 10.4 10.5 48.7 48.3 3.2 3.2 7.2 7.3 13.1 12.8 1.9 1.9 8.4 8.1 2.8 2.8 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 5.1 5.1 8.5 8.5 4.3 4.3 3.0 3.0 11.7 11.6 2.5 2.4 9.2 9.2 57.6 +.3 +0.5 +1.5 +2.6 46.0 +.2 +0.4 +1.4 +3.0 10.6 -.1 -1.0 -.2 -1.9 47.0 +.4 +0.8 +1.7 +3.6 3.0 +.0 +0.0 +.2 +6.7 7.6 -.1 -1.4 -.4 -5.3 12.2 +.3 +2.3 +.9 +7.4 1.9 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 7.5 +.3 +3.7 +.9 +12.0 2.8 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 1.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 2.1 +.0 +0.0 -.1 -4.8 5.1 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 7.8 +.0 +0.0 +.7 +9.0 4.3 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 2.9 +.0 +0.0 +.1 +3.4 11.6 +.1 +0.9 +.1 +0.9 2.4 +.1 +4.2 +.1 +4.2 9.2 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 Note: The data included in this release reflect the conversion from the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. Unlike the previous publication structure under SIC, the new published series are not additive. These preliminary estimates were prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, based upon monthly reports submitted by selected employers in the Albany Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Dougherty and Lee counties. The estimates include all full- and parttime wage and salary workers who were employed during or received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the twelfth of the month. Proprietors, domestic workers, self-employed persons, unpaid family workers and personnel of the armed forces are excluded. Estimates based on 2002 benchmark. Athens Nonagricultural Employment (000s) Preliminary NOV 2003 Revised OCT 2003 Revised NOV 2002 Change in Jobs from OCT 2003 Net % Change in Jobs from NOV 2002 Net % Total nonfarm Total private Goods producing Service-providing Natural resources, mining and construction Manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Wholesale trade Retail trade Transportation, warehousing and utilities Information Financial activities Professional and business services Educational and health services Leisure and hospitality Other services Government Federal government State and local government 75.0 74.0 54.0 53.1 12.2 11.6 62.8 62.4 3.2 3.2 9.0 8.4 13.4 13.3 1.9 1.9 10.3 10.2 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.0 2.5 2.5 5.0 5.0 9.0 8.8 6.9 7.0 4.0 3.9 21.0 20.9 1.7 1.7 19.3 19.2 74.5 +1.0 +1.4 53.1 +.9 +1.7 12.6 +.6 +5.2 61.9 +.4 +0.6 3.1 +.0 +0.0 9.5 +.6 +7.1 12.7 +.1 +0.8 2.0 +.0 +0.0 9.5 +.1 +1.0 1.2 +.0 +0.0 1.0 +.0 +0.0 2.5 +.0 +0.0 4.8 +.0 +0.0 8.7 +.2 +2.3 6.9 -.1 -1.4 3.9 +.1 +2.6 21.4 +.1 +0.5 1.8 +.0 +0.0 19.6 +.1 +0.5 +.5 +0.7 +.9 +1.7 -.4 -3.2 +.9 +1.5 +.1 +3.2 -.5 -5.3 +.7 +5.5 -.1 -5.0 +.8 +8.4 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.2 +4.2 +.3 +3.4 +.0 +0.0 +.1 +2.6 -.4 -1.9 -.1 -5.6 -.3 -1.5 Note: The data included in this release reflect the conversion from the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. Unlike the previous publication structure under SIC, the new published series are not additive. These preliminary estimates were prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, based upon monthly reports submitted by selected employers in the Athens Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Clarke, Madison and Oconee counties. The estimates include all fulland part-time wage and salary workers who were employed during or received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the twelfth of the month. Proprietors, domestic workers, self-employed persons, unpaid family workers and personnel of the armed forces are excluded. Estimates based on 2002 benchmark. Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Workforce Information & Analysis 5 Augusta-Aiken Nonagricultural Employment (000s) Preliminary NOV 2003 Revised OCT 2003 Revised NOV 2002 Change in Jobs from OCT 2003 Net % Change in Jobs from NOV 2002 Net % Total nonfarm Total private Goods producing Service-providing Natural resources, mining and construction Manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Wholesale trade Retail trade Transportation, warehousing and utilities Information Financial activities Professional and business services Educational and health services Educational services Health care and social assistance Hospitals Leisure and hospitality Other services Government Federal government State and local government 200.2 160.5 36.9 163.3 12.4 24.5 33.4 4.0 24.6 4.8 3.2 7.0 29.8 24.5 4.0 20.5 6.7 17.7 8.0 39.7 7.4 32.3 200.4 160.6 37.1 163.3 12.4 24.7 33.1 4.0 24.3 4.8 3.2 7.1 30.1 24.5 3.9 20.6 6.5 17.5 8.0 39.8 7.5 32.3 199.1 160.4 38.7 160.4 13.1 25.6 33.2 3.8 24.4 5.0 3.2 7.2 29.5 23.5 3.8 19.7 6.3 17.2 7.9 38.7 7.2 31.5 -.2 -0.1 -.1 -0.1 -.2 -0.5 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 -.2 -0.8 +.3 +0.9 +.0 +0.0 +.3 +1.2 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 -.1 -1.4 -.3 -1.0 +.0 +0.0 +.1 +2.6 -.1 -0.5 +.2 +3.1 +.2 +1.1 +.0 +0.0 -.1 -0.3 -.1 -1.3 +.0 +0.0 +1.1 +.1 -1.8 +2.9 -.7 -1.1 +.2 +.2 +.2 -.2 +.0 -.2 +.3 +1.0 +.2 +.8 +.4 +.5 +.1 +1.0 +.2 +.8 +0.6 +0.1 -4.7 +1.8 -5.3 -4.3 +0.6 +5.3 +0.8 -4.0 +0.0 -2.8 +1.0 +4.3 +5.3 +4.1 +6.3 +2.9 +1.3 +2.6 +2.8 +2.5 Note: The data included in this release reflect the conversion from the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. Unlike the previous publication structure under SIC, the new published series are not additive. These preliminary estimates were prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, based upon monthly reports submitted by selected employers in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Columbia, McDuffie and Richmond counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina. The estimates include all full- and part-time wage and salary workers who were employed during or received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the twelfth of the month. Proprietors, domestic workers, self-employed persons, unpaid family workers and personnel of the armed forces are excluded. Estimates based on 2002 benchmark. Columbus Nonagricultural Employment (000s) Preliminary NOV 2003 Revised OCT 2003 Revised NOV 2002 Change in Jobs from OCT 2003 Net % Change in Jobs from NOV 2002 Net % Total nonfarm Total private Goods producing Service-providing Natural resources, mining and construction Manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Wholesale trade Retail trade Transportation, warehousing and utilities Information Financial activities Finance and insurance Insurance carriers and related activities Professional and business services Educational and health services Leisure and hospitality Accommodation and food services Other services Government Federal government State and local government 114.3 93.3 18.7 95.6 5.5 13.2 19.0 2.1 15.0 1.9 6.2 8.4 6.6 4.9 14.3 11.0 10.1 8.8 5.6 21.0 4.8 16.2 113.8 92.7 18.1 95.7 5.6 12.5 18.7 2.1 14.7 1.9 6.2 8.4 6.6 4.9 14.3 11.1 10.3 9.1 5.6 21.1 4.9 16.2 115.9 94.4 20.4 95.5 5.4 15.0 17.9 2.1 13.9 1.9 6.3 7.8 6.1 4.5 14.5 11.0 11.0 9.9 5.5 21.5 5.4 16.1 +.5 +0.4 +.6 +0.6 +.6 +3.3 -.1 -0.1 -.1 -1.8 +.7 +5.6 +.3 +1.6 +.0 +0.0 +.3 +2.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 -.1 -0.9 -.2 -1.9 -.3 -3.3 +.0 +0.0 -.1 -0.5 -.1 -2.0 +.0 +0.0 -1.6 -1.4 -1.1 -1.2 -1.7 -8.3 +.1 +0.1 +.1 +1.9 -1.8 -12.0 +1.1 +6.1 +.0 +0.0 +1.1 +7.9 +.0 +0.0 -.1 -1.6 +.6 +7.7 +.5 +8.2 +.4 +8.9 -.2 -1.4 +.0 +0.0 -.9 -8.2 -1.1 -11.1 +.1 +1.8 -.5 -2.3 -.6 -11.1 +.1 +0.6 Note: The data included in this release reflect the conversion from the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. Unlike the previous publication structure under SIC, the new published series are not additive. These preliminary estimates were prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, based upon monthly reports submitted by selected employers in the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Chattahoochee, Harris and Muscogee counties in Georgia and Russell County in Alabama. The estimates include all full- and part-time wage and salary workers who were employed during or received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the twelfth of the month. Proprietors, domestic workers, self-employed persons, unpaid family workers and personnel of the armed forces are excluded. Estimates based on 2002 benchmark. Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Workforce Information & Analysis 6 Macon Nonagricultural Employment (000s) Preliminary NOV 2003 Revised OCT 2003 Revised NOV 2002 Change in Jobs from OCT 2003 Net % Change in Jobs from NOV 2002 Net % Total nonfarm Total private Goods producing Service-providing Natural resources, mining and construction Manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Wholesale trade Retail trade Transportation, warehousing and utilities Information Financial activities Professional and business services Educational and health services Leisure and hospitality Other services Government Federal government State and local government 148.5 113.9 20.5 128.0 6.3 14.2 26.9 3.2 19.5 4.2 2.6 10.4 15.8 18.7 13.2 5.8 34.6 13.8 20.8 148.5 113.7 20.5 128.0 6.3 14.2 26.6 3.2 19.3 4.1 2.6 10.3 15.9 18.6 13.4 5.8 34.8 13.8 21.0 149.6 114.5 21.9 127.7 6.3 15.6 26.8 3.4 19.1 4.3 2.6 9.9 15.1 18.9 13.7 5.6 35.1 14.0 21.1 +.0 +0.0 +.2 +0.2 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.3 +1.1 +.0 +0.0 +.2 +1.0 +.1 +2.4 +.0 +0.0 +.1 +1.0 -.1 -0.6 +.1 +0.5 -.2 -1.5 +.0 +0.0 -.2 -0.6 +.0 +0.0 -.2 -1.0 -1.1 -0.7 -.6 -0.5 -1.4 -6.4 +.3 +0.2 +.0 +0.0 -1.4 -9.0 +.1 +0.4 -.2 -5.9 +.4 +2.1 -.1 -2.3 +.0 +0.0 +.5 +5.1 +.7 +4.6 -.2 -1.1 -.5 -3.6 +.2 +3.6 -.5 -1.4 -.2 -1.4 -.3 -1.4 Note: The data included in this release reflect the conversion from the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. Unlike the previous publication structure under SIC, the new published series are not additive. These preliminary estimates were prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, based upon monthly reports submitted by selected employers in the Macon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Bibb, Houston, Jones, Peach and Twiggs counties. The estimates include all full- and part-time wage and salary workers who were employed during or received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the twelfth of the month. Proprietors, domestic workers, self-employed persons, unpaid family workers and personnel of the armed forces are excluded. Estimates based on 2002 benchmark. Savannah Nonagricultural Employment (000s) Preliminary NOV 2003 Revised OCT 2003 Revised NOV 2002 Change in Jobs from OCT 2003 Net % Change in Jobs from NOV 2002 Net % Total nonfarm Total private Goods producing Service-providing Natural resources, mining and construction Manufacturing Transportation equipment Paper manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Wholesale trade Retail trade Transportation, warehousing and utilities Information Financial activities Professional and business services Educational and health services Leisure and hospitality Other services Government Federal government State and local government 141.3 120.2 22.1 119.2 8.6 13.5 4.8 2.9 32.4 4.4 19.3 8.7 2.6 5.7 15.8 17.0 16.0 8.6 21.1 2.6 18.5 141.4 120.4 22.2 119.2 8.6 13.6 4.9 2.9 32.2 4.4 19.1 8.7 2.6 5.7 15.8 17.0 16.3 8.6 21.0 2.5 18.5 139.0 118.2 22.4 116.6 8.2 14.2 5.2 3.1 30.6 4.4 18.0 8.2 2.5 5.6 15.0 17.6 16.3 8.2 20.8 2.6 18.2 -.1 -0.1 -.2 -0.2 -.1 -0.5 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 -.1 -0.7 -.1 -2.0 +.0 +0.0 +.2 +0.6 +.0 +0.0 +.2 +1.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 +.0 +0.0 -.3 -1.8 +.0 +0.0 +.1 +0.5 +.1 +4.0 +.0 +0.0 +2.3 +1.7 +2.0 +1.7 -.3 -1.3 +2.6 +2.2 +.4 +4.9 -.7 -4.9 -.4 -7.7 -.2 -6.5 +1.8 +5.9 +.0 +0.0 +1.3 +7.2 +.5 +6.1 +.1 +4.0 +.1 +1.8 +.8 +5.3 -.6 -3.4 -.3 -1.8 +.4 +4.9 +.3 +1.4 +.0 +0.0 +.3 +1.6 Note: The data included in this release reflect the conversion from the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. Unlike the previous publication structure under SIC, the new published series are not additive. These preliminary estimates were prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, based upon monthly reports submitted by selected employers in the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties. The estimates include all full- and part-time wage and salary workers who were employed during or received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the twelfth of the month. Proprietors, domestic workers, self-employed persons, unpaid family workers and personnel of the armed forces are excluded. Estimates based on 2002 benchmark. Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Workforce Information & Analysis 7 Dimensions - Measuring Georgia's Labor Force Unemployment declines to lowest level in more than two years 7.0% Georgia's unemployment rate, for the fifth straight time in November, declined over the month. With a month-to-month drop of four-tenths percent, the state's rate was 4 percent in November, its lowest level in more than two years. The decline this month was seasonal and typical for the month of November. One year ago, Georgia's rate was 5 percent. 6.0% 5.0% Unemployment rates -- Georgia and U.S. G e o rg i a U.S . At 5.6 percent, the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, was essentially unchanged in November, both over the month and over the year. The nation's constant rate this month also kept Georgia in a comfortable position when compared to the nation as a whole. With a margin of more than one and one-half percentage points in November, the state's rate has prevailed at or below the national average for more than three years now. In November, Georgia's total count of unemployed persons had its fifth consecutive monthly drop. The state's unemployment level, at less than 180,000 in November, declined by slightly less than 14,500 (-7.5%) over the month. Despite a slight increase in the number of reentrants this month, the hiring of workers during the holiday season translated to a reduction in the number of people receiving unemployment insurance (UI) benefits during 4.0% Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Se p O ct Nov 2002 2003 the reference week in November. Also, there were fewer new entrants this month. Georgia's total civilian employment count increased for the third consecutive month in November. On the strength of nonfarm employment, Georgia's civilian employment expanded by more than 20,000 (0.5%) over the month. Also, increased levels in the total number of self-employed, unpaid family and private household workers were instrumental in this month's increased civilian employment count. Area data In November, the unemployment rates in all seven of Georgia's Metropolitan Statistical Areas were influenced by the statewide downward trend. Athens, which dropped from 2.9 percent in October to 2.8 percent in November, had the lowest metro area rate. This was the 29th consecutive month Athens has reigned in that category. Despite a drop of one-half percentage point, Columbus, at 5.2 percent, had the highest rate for the fourth straight month. Most Georgia counties also followed the statewide trend in November. Jobless rates declined in 126 counties, increased in 21 counties and the remaining 12 counties were essentially unchanged over the month. Once again, Burke County, despite an over-the-month decline of one-half percentage point, had the highest county rate (10 %). Oconee and Rabun counties, both at 1.7 percent, had the lowest rate. Percent Southeastern states and U.S. unemployment rates 9 Nove mbe r O ctobe r 8 7 5.9 5.9 6 5 4.7 5.0 5.1 5.3 6.6 6.9 5.9 6.2 5.9 5.7 5.3 5.6 5.6 4.4 4.6 4.0 4 3 2 1 0 AL FL GA KY MS NC SC TN US 8 In November, Georgia continued to fare well in the Southeast. For the eleventh straight month, Georgia maintained a very comfortable lead in the region with the lowest unemployment rate of all states. The state was ahead of its closest challenger by six-tenths of a percentage point. Georgia was also one of only three states with a rate that prevailed below the national average of 5.6 percent. The other two were Mississippi, which at 4.6 percent plummeted over the month by one and three-tenths percentage points, and Florida, at 4.7 percent. Despite a decline of three-tenths percent, South Carolina, at 6.6 percent, had the highest rate in the Southeast for the third straight month. Georgia Albany MSA Athens MSA Atlanta MSA Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC MSA Columbus, GA-AL MSA Macon MSA Savannah MSA Georgia Labor Force Estimates (not seasonally adjusted) Place of Residence - Persons 16 Years and Older Employment Status Preliminary NOV 2003 Revised OCT 2003 Revised NOV 2002 Change From Revised Revised OCT 2003 NOV 2002 Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 4,412,340 4,233,999 178,341 4.0 4,406,686 4,213,980 192,706 4.4 4,326,833 4,109,847 216,986 5.0 5,654 20,019 -14,365 85,507 124,152 -38,645 Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 57,610 55,245 2,365 4.1 57,718 54,862 2,856 4.9 56,047 53,207 2,840 5.1 -108 383 -491 1,563 2,038 -475 Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 78,396 76,162 2,234 2.8 77,613 75,337 2,276 2.9 76,823 74,436 2,387 3.1 783 1,573 825 1,726 -42 -153 Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 2,466,968 2,365,394 101,574 4.1 2,451,049 2,341,045 110,004 4.5 2,391,477 2,267,343 124,134 5.2 15,919 24,349 -8,430 75,491 98,051 -22,560 Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 213,729 204,134 9,595 4.5 214,085 203,970 10,115 4.7 209,007 198,314 10,693 5.1 -356 164 -520 4,722 5,820 -1,098 Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 125,495 118,931 6,564 5.2 124,666 117,577 7,089 5.7 125,858 118,652 7,206 5.7 829 1,354 -525 -363 279 -642 Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 156,508 150,469 6,039 3.9 156,503 149,977 6,526 4.2 157,051 150,058 6,993 4.5 5 492 -487 -543 411 -954 Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 146,377 141,374 5,003 3.4 146,061 140,717 5,344 3.7 143,297 137,657 5,640 3.9 316 657 -341 3,080 3,717 -637 United States Labor Force Estimates Place of Residence - Persons 16 Years and Older Area Employment Status NOV 2003 OCT 2003 NOV 2002 Change From OCT 2003 NOV 2002 United States (Seasonally adjusted) Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 147,277,000 138,603,000 8,674,000 5.9 146,793,000 138,014,000 8,779,000 6.0 145,180,000 136,542,000 8,637,000 5.9 484,000 589,000 -105,000 2,097,000 2,061,000 37,000 United States (Not Seasonally adjusted) Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Rate 146,969,000 138,700,000 8,269,000 5.6 146,787,000 138,619,000 8,169,000 5.6 144,854,000 136,684,000 8,170,000 5.6 182,000 81,000 100,000 2,115,000 2,016,000 99,000 Note: Employment includes nonagricultural wage and salary employment, self-employment, unpaid family and private household workers and agricultural workers. Persons in labor disputes are counted as employed. The use of unrounded data does not imply that the numbers are exact. Georgia and Metropolitan Statistical Area data have not been seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data for Georgia available upon request. Albany MSA: Includes Dougherty and Lee counties Athens MSA: Includes Clarke, Madison, and Oconee counties Atlanta MSA: Includes Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton counties Augusta-Aiken MSA: Includes Columbia, McDuffie and Richmond counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina Columbus MSA: Includes Chattahoochee, Harris and Muscogee counties in Georgia and Russell County in Alabama Macon MSA: Includes Bibb, Houston, Jones, Peach, and Twiggs counties Savannah MSA: Includes Byran, Chatham, and Effingham counties Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Workforce Information & Analysis 9 Georgia Labor Force Estimates by County (not seasonally adjusted) Georgia Appling Atkinson Bacon Baker Baldwin Place of Residence - Persons 16 Years and Older Preliminary November 2003 Revised October 2003 Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate 4,412,340 4,233,999 178,341 4.0 7,616 2,985 3,723 1,777 18,268 7,168 2,793 3,534 1,714 17,584 448 5.9 192 6.4 189 5.1 63 3.5 684 3.7 4,406,686 4,213,980 192,706 4.4 7,720 3,105 3,812 1,885 18,211 7,264 2,886 3,600 1,820 17,542 456 5.9 219 7.1 212 5.6 65 3.4 669 3.7 Banks Barrow Bartow Ben Hill Berrien 7,271 7,066 205 2.8 24,947 23,955 992 4.0 43,074 41,078 1,996 4.6 8,922 8,413 509 5.7 6,346 6,147 199 3.1 7,384 7,153 231 3.1 24,738 23,709 1,029 4.2 42,826 40,655 2,171 5.1 8,996 8,544 452 5.0 6,540 6,334 206 3.1 Bibb Bleckley Brantley Brooks Bryan 72,575 69,726 2,849 3.9 5,874 5,695 179 3.0 7,193 6,865 328 4.6 7,552 7,367 185 2.4 11,820 11,491 329 2.8 72,568 69,498 3,070 4.2 5,932 5,741 191 3.2 7,209 6,879 330 4.6 7,596 7,409 187 2.5 11,767 11,437 330 2.8 Bulloch Burke Butts Calhoun Camden 28,096 9,577 9,465 2,323 17,792 27,281 8,618 9,098 2,213 17,075 815 2.9 959 10.0 367 3.9 110 4.7 717 4.0 28,312 9,750 9,493 2,439 17,837 27,393 8,721 9,101 2,320 17,078 919 3.2 1,029 10.6 392 4.1 119 4.9 759 4.3 Candler Carroll Catoosa Charlton Chatham 4,064 3,931 133 3.3 48,218 46,148 2,070 4.3 29,107 28,385 722 2.5 4,692 4,494 198 4.2 114,501 110,424 4,077 3.6 4,188 4,038 150 3.6 47,825 45,673 2,152 4.5 28,976 27,955 1,021 3.5 4,755 4,495 260 5.5 114,277 109,911 4,366 3.8 Chattahoochee 2,169 2,009 160 7.4 Chattooga 11,284 10,927 357 3.2 Cherokee 88,200 85,311 2,889 3.3 Clarke 50,194 48,731 1,463 2.9 Clay 1,805 1,760 45 2.5 2,163 1,986 177 8.2 11,313 10,922 391 3.5 87,592 84,433 3,159 3.6 49,729 48,203 1,526 3.1 1,873 1,820 53 2.8 Clayton Clinch Cobb Coffee Colquitt 145,234 137,718 7,516 5.2 2,832 2,730 102 3.6 388,430 374,395 14,035 3.6 21,150 19,936 1,214 5.7 18,656 18,042 614 3.3 144,423 136,301 8,122 5.6 2,906 2,787 119 4.1 385,697 370,541 15,156 3.9 21,598 20,254 1,344 6.2 19,111 18,457 654 3.4 Columbia Cook Coweta Crawford Crisp 44,353 43,188 1,165 2.6 7,859 7,568 291 3.7 48,935 47,190 1,745 3.6 6,075 5,774 301 5.0 9,261 8,751 510 5.5 44,227 43,044 1,183 2.7 8,014 7,701 313 3.9 48,668 46,704 1,964 4.0 6,159 5,822 337 5.5 9,435 8,945 490 5.2 Revised November 2002 Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate 4,326,833 4,109,847 216,986 5.0 7,642 2,937 3,672 1,695 18,208 7,044 2,703 3,456 1,631 17,499 598 7.8 234 8.0 216 5.9 64 3.8 709 3.9 7,243 24,267 41,918 8,770 6,270 6,943 22,962 39,375 8,251 5,974 300 4.1 1,305 5.4 2,543 6.1 519 5.9 296 4.7 73,045 5,896 7,247 7,645 11,562 69,536 5,623 6,809 7,282 11,188 3,509 4.8 273 4.6 438 6.0 363 4.7 374 3.2 27,745 9,303 9,565 2,272 17,912 26,996 8,487 9,034 2,120 16,951 749 2.7 816 8.8 531 5.6 152 6.7 961 5.4 3,988 46,897 28,705 4,661 111,994 3,826 44,235 27,808 4,462 107,520 162 4.1 2,662 5.7 897 3.1 199 4.3 4,474 4.0 2,197 11,134 85,420 49,184 1,759 2,012 10,858 81,774 47,627 1,704 185 8.4 276 2.5 3,646 4.3 1,557 3.2 55 3.1 140,888 132,009 8,879 6.3 2,807 2,671 136 4.8 375,871 358,876 16,995 4.5 20,641 19,559 1,082 5.2 18,773 17,603 1,170 6.2 43,831 7,764 47,349 5,987 9,156 42,432 7,421 45,234 5,703 8,538 1,399 3.2 343 4.4 2,115 4.5 284 4.7 618 6.7 10 Georgia Labor Force Estimates by County (not seasonally adjusted) Dade Dawson Decatur DeKalb Dodge Place of Residence - Persons 16 Years and Older Preliminary November 2003 Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate Revised October 2003 Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate 7,709 7,481 228 3.0 10,823 10,537 286 2.6 11,368 10,726 642 5.6 401,390 382,829 18,561 4.6 10,319 9,984 335 3.2 7,616 7,368 248 3.3 10,934 10,640 294 2.7 11,601 10,925 676 5.8 398,969 378,889 20,080 5.0 10,450 10,092 358 3.4 Dooly Dougherty Douglas Early Echols 4,580 4,284 296 6.5 44,088 42,071 2,017 4.6 55,349 52,974 2,375 4.3 4,898 4,641 257 5.2 1,793 1,755 38 2.1 4,714 4,379 335 7.1 44,247 41,779 2,468 5.6 54,916 52,428 2,488 4.5 5,096 4,803 293 5.7 1,803 1,765 38 2.1 Effingham Elbert Emanuel Evans Fannin 20,057 9,764 8,507 5,318 10,181 19,460 9,235 8,020 5,194 9,769 597 3.0 529 5.4 487 5.7 124 2.3 412 4.0 20,017 9,947 8,591 5,411 10,183 19,369 9,316 8,094 5,263 9,763 648 3.2 631 6.3 497 5.8 148 2.7 420 4.1 Fayette Floyd Forsyth Franklin Fulton 52,422 51,103 1,319 2.5 46,821 45,242 1,579 3.4 62,848 61,028 1,820 2.9 11,246 10,822 424 3.8 444,130 422,477 21,653 4.9 52,021 50,577 1,444 2.8 46,839 45,132 1,707 3.6 62,385 60,400 1,985 3.2 11,334 10,916 418 3.7 441,664 418,128 23,536 5.3 Gilmer Glascock Glynn Gordon Grady 9,601 9,257 344 3.6 1,022 982 40 3.9 37,517 36,358 1,159 3.1 22,331 21,368 963 4.3 9,802 9,435 367 3.7 9,649 9,310 339 3.5 1,032 994 38 3.7 37,476 36,260 1,216 3.2 22,418 21,449 969 4.3 10,091 9,714 377 3.7 Greene 5,705 5,278 427 7.5 Gwinnett 388,869 375,524 13,345 3.4 Habersham 16,433 15,979 454 2.8 Hall 79,503 77,169 2,334 2.9 Hancock 3,695 3,441 254 6.9 5,710 5,331 379 6.6 386,309 371,659 14,650 3.8 16,635 16,131 504 3.0 80,000 77,424 2,576 3.2 3,754 3,467 287 7.6 Haralson Harris Hart Heard Henry 10,339 9,894 445 4.3 12,874 12,511 363 2.8 9,487 9,104 383 4.0 5,268 5,050 218 4.1 74,187 71,397 2,790 3.8 10,396 9,892 504 4.8 12,762 12,366 396 3.1 9,554 9,182 372 3.9 5,316 5,075 241 4.5 73,574 70,662 2,912 4.0 Houston Irwin Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis 55,383 53,755 1,628 2.9 5,160 4,974 186 3.6 24,184 23,394 790 3.3 5,204 4,936 268 5.1 5,415 5,019 396 7.3 55,366 53,579 1,787 3.2 5,271 5,052 219 4.2 24,415 23,550 865 3.5 5,258 4,962 296 5.6 5,513 5,090 423 7.7 Revised November 2002 Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate 7,637 7,329 308 4.0 10,791 10,388 403 3.7 11,177 10,509 668 6.0 390,652 366,960 23,692 6.1 10,399 9,862 537 5.2 4,451 42,924 53,436 4,790 1,764 4,180 40,519 50,778 4,492 1,735 271 6.1 2,405 5.6 2,658 5.0 298 6.2 29 1.6 19,740 10,141 8,535 5,267 10,291 18,948 9,101 7,895 5,102 9,668 792 4.0 1,040 10.3 640 7.5 165 3.1 623 6.1 50,313 48,985 1,328 2.6 47,059 45,023 2,036 4.3 61,019 58,498 2,521 4.1 11,115 10,665 450 4.0 431,350 404,964 26,386 6.1 9,582 1,027 37,413 22,394 9,615 9,125 967 36,115 21,156 9,148 457 4.8 60 5.8 1,298 3.5 1,238 5.5 467 4.9 5,702 5,198 504 8.8 376,820 359,958 16,862 4.5 16,329 15,741 588 3.6 79,701 76,662 3,039 3.8 3,692 3,402 290 7.9 10,347 12,911 9,573 5,287 71,563 9,810 12,530 8,979 5,011 68,437 537 5.2 381 3.0 594 6.2 276 5.2 3,126 4.4 55,678 5,162 24,105 5,156 5,416 53,608 4,879 23,095 4,876 4,927 2,070 3.7 283 5.5 1,010 4.2 280 5.4 489 9.0 11 Georgia Labor Force Estimates by County (not seasonally adjusted) Jefferson Jenkins Johnson Jones Lamar Place of Residence - Persons 16 Years and Older Preliminary November 2003 Revised October 2003 Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate 7,140 4,074 3,007 12,697 6,514 6,543 3,865 2,790 12,268 6,196 597 8.4 209 5.1 217 7.2 429 3.4 318 4.9 7,263 4,206 3,103 12,715 6,595 6,632 3,972 2,824 12,228 6,242 631 8.7 234 5.6 279 9.0 487 3.8 353 5.4 Lanier Laurens Lee Liberty Lincoln 3,537 3,458 79 2.2 23,328 22,153 1,175 5.0 13,522 13,174 348 2.6 19,204 18,369 835 4.3 2,574 2,377 197 7.7 3,565 3,478 87 2.4 23,798 22,243 1,555 6.5 13,471 13,083 388 2.9 19,253 18,340 913 4.7 2,641 2,398 243 9.2 Long Lowndes Lumpkin McDuffie McIntosh 4,994 4,875 119 2.4 45,249 44,001 1,248 2.8 11,196 10,892 304 2.7 9,360 8,873 487 5.2 5,085 4,901 184 3.6 5,000 4,867 133 2.7 45,576 44,255 1,321 2.9 11,305 10,976 329 2.9 9,387 8,843 544 5.8 5,118 4,932 186 3.6 Macon Madison Marion Meriwether Miller 5,352 13,800 2,878 9,062 3,264 4,880 13,272 2,679 8,533 3,143 472 8.8 528 3.8 199 6.9 529 5.8 121 3.7 5,581 13,611 2,928 9,087 3,379 5,049 13,129 2,728 8,579 3,250 532 9.5 482 3.5 200 6.8 508 5.6 129 3.8 Mitchell Monroe Montgomery Morgan Murray 12,110 8,095 3,610 8,101 19,948 11,580 7,746 3,421 7,810 19,235 530 4.4 349 4.3 189 5.2 291 3.6 713 3.6 12,421 8,158 3,648 8,237 19,993 11,857 7,773 3,462 7,939 19,241 564 4.5 385 4.7 186 5.1 298 3.6 752 3.8 Muscogee Newton Oconee Oglethorpe Paulding 85,371 81,143 4,228 5.0 34,528 32,704 1,824 5.3 14,401 14,158 243 1.7 6,652 6,393 259 3.9 48,630 46,871 1,759 3.6 84,740 80,204 4,536 5.4 34,375 32,368 2,007 5.8 14,273 14,005 268 1.9 6,729 6,447 282 4.2 48,347 46,388 1,959 4.1 Peach Pickens Pierce Pike Polk 11,439 13,012 7,772 7,844 18,705 10,502 12,604 7,539 7,532 17,978 937 8.2 408 3.1 233 3.0 312 4.0 727 3.9 11,471 10,468 1,003 8.7 12,904 12,474 430 3.3 7,946 7,684 262 3.3 7,908 7,564 344 4.4 18,839 17,998 841 4.5 Pulaski Putnam Quitman Rabun Randolph 4,174 10,649 1,358 7,772 3,126 4,043 10,276 1,318 7,643 2,943 131 3.1 373 3.5 40 2.9 129 1.7 183 5.9 4,270 10,729 1,378 7,784 3,202 4,134 10,359 1,328 7,643 3,002 136 3.2 370 3.4 50 3.6 141 1.8 200 6.2 Revised November 2002 Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate 7,205 3,982 2,991 12,674 6,632 6,436 3,770 2,744 12,235 6,138 769 10.7 212 5.3 247 8.3 439 3.5 494 7.4 3,595 23,162 13,123 19,627 2,609 3,419 21,922 12,688 18,275 2,344 176 4.9 1,240 5.4 435 3.3 1,352 6.9 265 10.2 5,038 45,002 11,178 9,737 5,097 4,850 43,497 10,783 8,718 4,846 188 3.7 1,505 3.3 395 3.5 1,019 10.5 251 4.9 5,142 13,500 2,779 9,066 3,208 4,729 12,972 2,621 8,468 3,046 413 8.0 528 3.9 158 5.7 598 6.6 162 5.0 11,842 8,143 3,686 8,053 20,200 11,301 7,693 3,367 7,656 19,151 541 4.6 450 5.5 319 8.7 397 4.9 1,049 5.2 85,810 33,251 14,140 6,578 46,933 81,268 31,349 13,838 6,311 44,928 4,542 5.3 1,902 5.7 302 2.1 267 4.1 2,005 4.3 11,114 12,537 7,704 7,855 18,865 10,474 12,081 7,379 7,477 17,888 640 5.8 456 3.6 325 4.2 378 4.8 977 5.2 4,127 10,554 1,340 7,751 3,167 3,960 10,176 1,297 7,556 2,869 167 4.0 378 3.6 43 3.2 195 2.5 298 9.4 12 Georgia Labor Force Estimates by County (not seasonally adjusted) Richmond Rockdale Schley Screven Seminole Place of Residence - Persons 16 Years and Older Preliminary November 2003 Revised October 2003 Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate 82,508 78,487 4,021 4.9 41,249 39,575 1,674 4.1 1,758 1,695 63 3.6 5,569 5,241 328 5.9 4,611 4,446 165 3.6 82,306 78,226 4,080 5.0 41,035 39,168 1,867 4.5 1,792 1,718 74 4.1 5,682 5,348 334 5.9 4,764 4,602 162 3.4 Spalding Stephens Stewart Sumter Talbot 30,040 28,445 1,595 5.3 12,740 11,969 771 6.1 2,377 2,156 221 9.3 14,548 13,812 736 5.1 3,105 2,961 144 4.6 29,785 28,152 1,633 5.5 12,720 11,977 743 5.8 2,310 2,188 122 5.3 14,721 13,957 764 5.2 3,158 2,986 172 5.4 Taliaferro Tattnall Taylor Telfair Terrell 805 6,911 3,818 3,913 3,927 758 6,691 3,588 3,573 3,701 47 5.8 220 3.2 230 6.0 340 8.7 226 5.8 828 7,218 3,920 4,045 4,033 773 6,969 3,655 3,654 3,809 55 6.6 249 3.4 265 6.8 391 9.7 224 5.6 Thomas Tift Toombs Towns Treutlen 23,161 20,977 11,331 4,699 2,819 22,398 20,338 10,607 4,600 2,712 763 3.3 639 3.0 724 6.4 99 2.1 107 3.8 23,385 21,312 11,488 4,687 2,879 22,590 20,658 10,732 4,610 2,744 795 3.4 654 3.1 756 6.6 77 1.6 135 4.7 Troup Turner Twiggs Union Upson 31,380 29,928 1,452 4.6 4,586 4,274 312 6.8 4,415 4,218 197 4.5 9,048 8,768 280 3.1 10,667 10,111 556 5.2 31,460 29,879 1,581 5.0 4,727 4,397 330 7.0 4,383 4,204 179 4.1 9,158 8,871 287 3.1 10,713 10,119 594 5.5 Walker Walton Ware Warren Washington 31,490 30,550 940 3.0 33,276 32,069 1,207 3.6 15,424 14,826 598 3.9 2,420 2,226 194 8.0 9,482 9,023 459 4.8 31,312 33,001 15,510 2,504 9,574 30,088 31,739 14,865 2,253 9,089 1,224 3.9 1,262 3.8 645 4.2 251 10.0 485 5.1 Wayne Webster Wheeler White Whitfield 11,662 11,135 527 4.5 1,173 1,099 74 6.3 1,962 1,851 111 5.7 9,866 9,622 244 2.5 49,640 48,200 1,440 2.9 11,646 11,173 473 4.1 1,176 1,130 46 3.9 2,037 1,893 144 7.1 9,958 9,679 279 2.8 49,653 48,127 1,526 3.1 Wilcox Wilkes Wilkinson Worth 3,446 5,078 4,294 9,227 3,324 4,743 4,063 8,787 122 3.5 335 6.6 231 5.4 440 4.8 3,543 5,227 4,307 9,509 3,398 4,816 4,068 9,038 145 4.1 411 7.9 239 5.5 471 5.0 Revised November 2002 Labor Force Employment Unemployment Number Rate 81,679 39,840 1,745 5,408 4,469 77,114 37,935 1,673 5,120 4,302 4,565 5.6 1,905 4.8 72 4.1 288 5.3 167 3.7 29,033 12,537 2,241 14,556 3,063 27,266 11,879 2,114 13,600 2,931 1,767 6.1 658 5.2 127 5.7 956 6.6 132 4.3 828 6,784 3,659 3,949 3,960 740 6,449 3,511 3,486 3,594 88 10.6 335 4.9 148 4.0 463 11.7 366 9.2 23,149 20,764 11,262 4,669 2,899 22,078 19,952 10,440 4,539 2,669 1,071 4.6 812 3.9 822 7.3 130 2.8 230 7.9 31,426 4,451 4,542 8,960 10,838 29,740 4,138 4,206 8,598 10,028 1,686 5.4 313 7.0 336 7.4 362 4.0 810 7.5 31,243 32,121 15,464 2,562 9,486 29,929 30,740 14,681 2,194 8,916 1,314 4.2 1,381 4.3 783 5.1 368 14.4 570 6.0 11,579 1,121 1,932 9,822 49,783 11,020 1,066 1,807 9,485 47,930 559 4.8 55 4.9 125 6.5 337 3.4 1,853 3.7 3,458 5,099 4,283 9,030 3,243 4,667 4,038 8,547 215 6.2 432 8.5 245 5.7 483 5.3 13 New Developments BrandsMart is coming to the Atlanta metro area. Based in Florida, BrandsMart is a giant discount appliance, electronics and housewares retailer. It specializes in selling TVs, CD and DVD recorders, refrigerators, camcorders, furniture, surround-sound systems, telephones and vacuum cleaners. The company currently has five stores in Florida and is known for its huge multi-level retail stores, which average about 100,000 square feet. The new Georgia store will be located at the old General Motors parts distribution plant in Doraville off Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and I-285 where the company recently purchased nearly 17 acres of land. Last year BrandsMart had $578 million in sales and according to a company spokesman, leads the country in sales per location and sales per square foot. BrandsMart's entry in the local market comes on the heels of another large appliance and electronics discounter, H.H.Gregg, which has opened more than 10 stores in Georgia this year. BrandsMart is expected to open in early 2005 in DeKalb County. Caterpillar plans to increase its presence in the Griffin area when it opens a new manufacturing plant next year. This will be the second plant in the Griffin area for Caterpillar and its eighth operation in the state. The new plant was spawned by the joint venture of Perkins Engines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar, with the Ishikawajima Shibaura Machinery Company in Japan. Emulating the Perkins plant in Peterborough, England, the Griffin operation will produce the Perkins 400 Series engines, which are a range of two-, three- and fourcylinder, liquid cooled, naturally aspirated and turbocharged indirect-injection engines. While the new facility will initially employ about 25 people when production begins in May 2004, Caterpillar expects to eventually have about 100 workers as business picks up in Spalding County. Avon recently opened its new retail and training center in Decatur. The retail store, which is located in the former First Union Bank building outside The Gallery At South DeKalb Mall on Candler Road, is the first Avon Retail and Training Center in Georgia and only the third in the nation. Avon is the world's leading direct seller of beauty products and has built its $1.5 billion business on direct sales. The new Decatur facility, which serves the Atlanta area, is poised to compete with other cosmetics companies for Atlanta's $2 million-a-year market. The company hopes to boost sales by making it more convenient for customers to buy on the spot without the two-week wait. It is located in South DeKalb County. Armitec Inc. (AMTI) is moving one of its manu- facturing operations to downtown Hazlehurst. The company plans to relocate its knitting plant, which is currently located in Pennsylvania, to a 60,000 square foot building that recently housed Emerson Electric. Emerson Electric closed about two months ago and about 250 people lost their jobs. Headquartered in Smyrna, AMTI is a garment manufacturer and distributor that specializes in high quality uniforms and accessories for federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, fire departments, EMTs, private security agencies, postal uniform retailers and catalog houses. The company has three distinct divisions the Manufacturing and Distribution division that deals with retail and catalog houses, the Retail Distribution division that sells to end users and the Internet and Direct Mail division. The new Hazlehurst facility will initially employ about 80 people, but that number is expected to increase when the company merges its trouser plant and a shirt plant at this location. When this merger is completed within the next year, employment is projected to exceed 200. AMTI is expected to be in production the first of the year making a tremendous economic impact in a county that saw a November unemployment rate of 7.3 percent, Jeff Davis County. 14 Georgia Unemployment Rates by County November 2003 Dade Catoosa Whitfield Walker Murray Chattooga Gordon Floyd Bartow Fannin Towns Union Rabun Gilmer Pickens Cherokee White Haber- Lumpkin sham Stephens Dawson Forsyth Hall Banks Franklin Jackson Madison Hart Elbert 10% or greater 4.0% to 9.9% Less than 4.0% Polk Cobb Paulding Haralson Douglas Gwinnett Barrow Clarke Oconee Oglethorpe DeKalb Walton Rock- Wilkes Lincoln Carroll Fulton Clayton dale Newton Morgan Greene Taliaferro Columbia Heard Fayette Henry Coweta Spalding Butts Jasper Putnam Hancock McDuffie Warren Glascock Richmond Troup Meriwether Pike Lamar Monroe Jones Baldwin Jefferson Washington Burke Upson Harris Talbot Bibb Wilkinson Crawford Twiggs Johnson Jenkins Emanuel Screven Muscogee Taylor Peach Marion Chattahoo- Macon Houston Bleckley Laurens Treutlen Candler Bulloch Effingham chee Schley Stewart Webster Sumter Pulaski Dodge Dooly Wilcox Montgomery Wheeler Toombs Evans Tattnall Bryan Chatham Crisp Telfair Quitman Randolph Terrell Lee Turner Ben Hill Jeff Davis Appling Liberty Long Clay Calhoun Dougherty Early Miller Baker Mitchell Worth Colquitt Irwin Tift Coffee Berrien Atkinson Cook Lanier Seminole Decatur Grady Thomas Brooks Lowndes Clinch Echols Bacon Wayne Pierce Ware Brantley McIntosh Glynn Charlton Camden Georgia's Unemployment Rate: 4.0% 15 Georgia Unemployment Insurance Claims by County County November Average Initial Weekly Average Claims Benefit Duration County November Average Initial Weekly Average Claims Benefit Duration Appling 188 ...... $204 ..... 11.2 Atkinson 145 ...... $195 ....... 9.0 Bacon 106 ...... $215 ....... 7.9 Baker 16 ...... $171 ..... 11.5 Baldwin 245 ...... $182 ....... 9.3 Banks 55 ...... $216 ....... 9.7 Barrow 185 ...... $222 ..... 12.7 Bartow 334 ...... $225 ..... 11.0 Ben Hill 121 ...... $152 ....... 9.1 Berrien 49 ...... $188 ..... 10.8 Bibb 489 ...... $187 ..... 13.2 Bleckley 88 ...... $186 ....... 9.5 Brantley 88 ...... $206 ..... 15.7 Brooks 43 ...... $173 ..... 10.0 Bryan 56 ...... $215 ..... 10.7 Bulloch 160 ...... $212 ..... 11.9 Burke 198 ...... $190 ..... 12.2 Butts 69 ...... $205 ..... 12.5 Calhoun 17 ...... $159 ..... 12.5 Camden 112 ...... $194 ..... 29.0 Candler 39 ...... $181 ..... 12.4 Carroll 345 ...... $216 ..... 12.2 Catoosa 253 ...... $230 ....... 9.0 Charlton 25 ...... $190 ..... 19.9 Chatham 592 ...... $196 ..... 13.0 Chattahoochee 16 ...... $190 ..... 13.1 Chattooga 53 ...... $211 ..... 14.3 Cherokee 370 ...... $246 ..... 13.8 Clarke 283 ...... $188 ..... 12.4 Clay 9 ...... $186 ....... 9.5 Clayton 1,014 ...... $224 ..... 15.5 Clinch 26 ...... $159 ..... 12.5 Cobb 1,526 ...... $243 ..... 16.2 Coffee 252 ...... $194 ..... 10.8 Colquitt 153 ...... $176 ..... 12.7 Columbia 238 ...... $231 ..... 12.4 Cook 60 ...... $175 ..... 10.4 Coweta 204 ...... $234 ..... 11.7 Crawford 55 ...... $206 ..... 11.2 Crisp 316 ...... $164 ..... 10.1 Dade 18 ...... $236 ....... 6.8 Dawson 41 ...... $236 ..... 12.8 Decatur 157 ...... $194 ..... 10.7 DeKalb 2,120 ...... $230 ..... 15.5 Dodge 95 ...... $168 ..... 10.3 Dooly 305 ...... $175 ....... 8.5 Dougherty 328 ...... $169 ..... 12.2 Douglas 340 ...... $240 ..... 14.8 Early 38 ...... $165 ..... 14.0 Echols 5 ...... $215 ....... 8.0 Effingham 102 ...... $231 ....... 9.3 Elbert 243 ...... $181 ....... 8.1 Emanuel 196 ...... $176 ....... 9.5 Evans Fannin Fayette Floyd Forsyth Franklin Fulton Gilmer Glascock Glynn Gordon Grady Greene Gwinnett Habersham Hall Hancock Haralson Harris Hart Heard Henry Houston Irwin Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis Jefferson Jenkins Johnson Jones Lamar Lanier Laurens Lee Liberty Lincoln Long Lowndes Lumpkin Macon Madison Marion McDuffie McIntosh Meriwether Miller Mitchell Monroe Montgomery Morgan Murray Muscogee 36 ...... $193 ..... 12.1 118 ...... $197 ..... 14.5 128 ...... $246 ..... 14.3 748 ...... $209 ....... 9.5 182 ...... $258 ..... 16.3 146 ...... $215 ..... 10.0 2,460 ...... $222 ..... 15.9 134 ...... $225 ....... 9.4 13 ...... $201 ....... 9.8 212 ...... $190 ..... 14.2 386 ...... $215 ....... 8.4 81 ...... $189 ....... 9.0 163 ...... $166 ..... 10.8 1,513 ...... $246 ..... 15.2 218 ...... $210 ....... 7.5 382 ...... $214 ..... 11.1 104 ...... $190 ....... 9.0 81 ...... $235 ..... 10.9 116 ...... $212 ....... 9.8 308 ...... $208 ....... 8.5 40 ...... $210 ..... 10.5 333 ...... $234 ..... 15.2 234 ...... $208 ..... 12.6 49 ...... $163 ..... 11.2 141 ...... $217 ..... 11.5 48 ...... $208 ..... 10.9 77 ...... $197 ....... 9.9 105 ...... $176 ..... 11.1 48 ...... $175 ....... 7.9 77 ...... $162 ..... 11.9 66 ...... $214 ..... 12.6 147 ...... $190 ....... 9.5 16 ...... $187 ..... 11.0 439 ...... $173 ..... 10.1 158 ...... $241 ....... 9.0 128 ...... $186 ..... 13.5 40 ...... $177 ..... 10.4 24 ...... $196 ..... 12.5 218 ...... $175 ..... 10.1 89 ...... $229 ....... 7.4 198 ...... $205 ....... 8.4 131 ...... $205 ....... 9.9 64 ...... $188 ....... 9.6 95 ...... $196 ..... 11.7 27 ...... $184 ..... 13.5 154 ...... $186 ....... 9.2 32 ...... $188 ..... 12.9 136 ...... $147 ..... 12.9 135 ...... $201 ..... 10.9 151 ...... $189 ..... 11.8 72 ...... $199 ..... 11.1 329 ...... $218 ....... 6.3 1,066 ...... $196 ..... 11.9 Initial claims include intrastate initial and additional claims, as well as agent state initial and additional claims for regular UI only. Average duration of benefits is represented in weeks. 16 County November Average Initial Weekly Average Claims Benefit Duration Newton Oconee Oglethorpe Paulding Peach Pickens Pierce Pike Polk Pulaski Putnam Quitman Rabun Randolph Richmond Rockdale Schley Screven Seminole Spalding Stephens Stewart Sumter Talbot Taliaferro Tattnall Taylor Telfair Terrell Thomas Tift Toombs Towns Treutlen Troup Turner Twiggs Union Upson Walker Walton Ware Warren Washington Wayne Webster Wheeler White Whitfield Wilcox Wilkes Wilkinson Worth 271 ...... $218 ..... 13.0 45 ...... $222 ..... 13.1 58 ...... $200 ..... 11.5 243 ...... $246 ..... 14.4 115 ...... $200 ..... 12.0 45 ...... $241 ..... 12.1 52 ...... $201 ..... 12.7 58 ...... $206 ..... 11.4 218 ...... $216 ....... 9.1 59 ...... $194 ....... 9.0 353 ...... $202 ....... 7.3 0 ...... $222 ..... 18.2 71 ...... $223 ....... 5.9 34 ...... $156 ....... 9.7 826 ...... $196 ..... 12.6 207 ...... $232 ..... 14.6 27 ...... $205 ..... 10.5 140 ...... $196 ..... 10.4 47 ...... $188 ..... 12.5 272 ...... $203 ..... 11.5 214 ...... $223 ..... 10.3 85 ...... $193 ..... 10.5 375 ...... $152 ..... 11.2 86 ...... $167 ..... 10.0 10 ...... $144 ..... 11.8 117 ...... $211 ..... 12.7 25 ...... $216 ..... 10.1 47 ...... $163 ....... 8.6 53 ...... $158 ....... 8.3 121 ...... $173 ..... 12.0 135 ...... $172 ..... 10.4 419 ...... $191 ..... 11.1 35 ...... $200 ..... 10.3 80 ...... $173 ....... 9.1 228 ...... $208 ..... 10.1 102 ...... $146 ..... 10.3 69 ...... $168 ..... 13.4 50 ...... $190 ..... 12.9 149 ...... $183 ....... 9.8 287 ...... $213 ....... 8.1 176 ...... $224 ..... 11.7 117 ...... $163 ..... 12.4 31 ...... $176 ..... 10.1 83 ...... $175 ..... 12.9 134 ...... $188 ..... 12.6 43 ...... $171 ..... 10.1 43 ...... $162 ....... 9.0 105 ...... $207 ....... 9.3 648 ...... $219 ....... 6.2 83 ...... $180 ..... 10.1 96 ...... $162 ..... 10.2 35 ...... $190 ..... 10.9 100 ...... $161 ..... 10.7 Unemployment Insurance Statistics Average duration of benefits Weeks Last 12 months 1 4 .0 12.9 12.9 1 3 .0 1 2 .6 1 2 .4 12.2 12.1 12.1 1 2 .2 12.0 12.0 12.2 12.3 1 2 .0 1 1 .0 1 0 .0 9.0 Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov 02 03 Thousand 100 90 Initial claims 2002-- 2003 2002 2003 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Initial claims down in November... Initial claims filed for unemployment insurance benefits were down 7.7 percent from October to November, dropping from 38,935 to 35,933. November's figure represents the lowest total of initial claims filings since October 2000 when 32,980 separated workers filed for unemployment insurance compensation. For the year, initial claims decreased 3,726 from the November 2002 figure of 39,659, a drop of 9.4 percent. Of the 35,933 initial claims filed during the month, 14,419 (40.1%) were additional claims filings. For the year, additional claims have accounted for 39.6 percent of all initial claims filed in Georgia. The Atlanta metropolitan area accounted for 12,525 initial claims during November (34.9% of the state total), a decline of 19.8 percent from November 2002. Macon (-18.3%), Savannah (-7.6%), Athens (-3.6%) and Albany (-2.8%) all saw initial claims fall while Columbus (50.1%) and Augusta (4.1%) experienced over-the-year increases. The total number of benefit claimants went virtually unchanged from October to November, sliding 103 to a figure of 70,170 beneficiaries. For the year the benefit claimant total dipped 3.5 percent. Benefit payments, $50,729,062 in November, diminished both monthly and yearly, falling 5.4 percent and 6.3 percent respectively. For the month, there were $9.0 million paid out in services, $5.8 million in manufacturing, $4.8 million in trade and $2.5 million in construction. First payments were down 7.6 percent over the month, dipping from 15,767 to 14,567, while relaxing 20.1 percent from November's 2002 figure of 18,232. This month's total is the lowest sum of first payments since September 2000 (12,875). There were 7,625 claims filed for extended benefits during the month, down 5.4 percent from October and a decline of 20.6 percent from last November. The average duration crept up from 12.2 weeks in October to 12.3 weeks this month, which was down from 13.1 weeks a year ago. Statistical Trends November 2003 November 2002 Net Change Percent Change Initial Claims .............................................................. 35,933 ................................ 39,659 ................................... -3,726 ............................... -9.4% Continued Weeks Claimed ..................................... 248,739 .............................. 267,649 ................................. -18,910 ............................... -7.1% Beneficiaries ........................................................... 70,170 ................................ 72,725 ................................... -2,555 ............................... -3.5% Benefits Paid .................................................. $50,729,062 ....................... $54,125,896 .......................... -$3,396,834 ............................... -6.3% Weeks Paid ............................................................ 212,191 .............................. 229,445 ................................. -17,254 ............................... -7.5% First Payments ......................................................... 14,567 ................................ 18,232 ................................... -3,665 ............................. -20.1% Final Payments .......................................................... 8,061 .................................. 7,785 ....................................... 276 ................................. 3.5% Average Weekly Benefit ....................................... $239.07 .............................. $235.90 .................................... $3.17 ................................. 1.3% Average Duration (weeks) ......................................... 12.3 .................................... 13.1 ....................................... -0.8 ............................... -6.1% Trust Fund Balance ...................................... $747,736,096 .................. $1,290,799,564 ..................... -$543,063,468 ............................. -42.1% 17 Fourth Edition of Licensed and Certified Occupations in Georgia FOURTH EDITION 2003 Licensed & Certified Occupations in Georgia Just Released Published by Workforce Information & Analysis Georgia Department of Labor Michael L. Thurmond Commissioner Occupational licensing and certification information for Students Job-seekers Career guidance Professionals Featuring information on Job descriptions Requirements Fees Exams Licensing/certifying agencies Available in printed format or online at http://www.dol.state.ga.us/wp/lmi_publications.htm To obtain copies to this publication at no charge, please complete and mail this form Mail to: If you prefer, you may e-mail your request to ridley.hubbard@dol.state.ga.us or fax to (404) 232-3888 Ridley Hubbard Workforce Information and Analysis Georgia Department of Labor 223 Courtland Street, NE, Suite 300 Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1751 Please send ____ copies of the Fourth Edition of Licensed and Certified Occupations in Georgia to: Name Company / Agency Address City State Zip Code 18 WI&A Customer Satisfaction Team We are proud to serve you. Please contact any team member should you need assistance regarding any of our products or publications. Employment Jan Mayo: Current Employment by industry for State and MSAs, hours and earnings Cheryl Totton or Ann Hunter: Employment and Wages for State, MSAs and counties Occupational & Career Information Ridley Hubbard: Occupational employment, forecasts and wages Elaine Hayes: Occupational Employment Survey Electronic Delivery Winston Connally: User Applications Other Workforce Information Areas Faye Duzan: The Workforce Investment Act and LMI, & training needs Bill Webb: Economic Indicators for State and Atlanta MSA Nancy Murphy: General Information on the Workforce Information and Analysis Division The WI&A Customer Satisfaction Team: Committed To Total Customer Satisfaction Through Outstanding Customer Service Workforce_Info@dol.state.ga.us (404) 232-3875 Upcoming Events Press Release Dates December Unemployment Insurance Claims .............. Jan. 15 Georgia Unemployment Rate/ Non-farmEmployment ......... Jan. 22 Civilian Labor Force/Area Unemployment Rates ......... 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