Georgia – Amid fluctuations and cooling inflation, financial experts say the unemployment rate has improved in the United States and Georgia compared to a year ago.
Personal finance website WalletHub on Thursday released its findings on unemployment in the nation and where individual states stand among their counterparts and the District of Columbia.
The experts used changes in jobless claims over several key baseline weeks and the number of claims per 100,000 people in the labor force to support their data.
Overall, WalletHub said unemployment claims increased 3.6 percent week over week on May 27 with 6.5 million citizens currently unemployed.
As for Georgia, WalletHub said last week’s unemployment claims are 23.08 percent lower than the previous week and 35.12 percent lower than in 2023.
Georgia ranked 48th in unemployment claims, making it one of multiple states that has seen a slow rise in unemployment since last week. The Peach State had 46 claims per 100,000 people in the workforce.
The state ranked 49th for changes in the number of initial unemployment insurance claims.
The year-to-date change in jobless claims was -13.89 percent, placing Georgia toward the bottom of the pack.
Twenty-nine states, including Georgia, had better jobless claims last week than the same week last year, WalletHub said. Other states include New Hampshire and Ohio.
Florida, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Alabama and Pennsylvania are among several states whose jobless claims last week were higher than the week before.
In his latest report released in May, Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson said the state unemployment rate was eight-tenths lower in April than the national unemployment rate.
“Jobs for Georgians is something we take seriously in the Peach State,” Thompson said in a news release in May. “With nearly 70,000 jobs added to the economy over the past year, including 15,000 last month alone, there are now more opportunities than ever to launch Georgians into high-demand careers that meet industry needs head-on. While that the future remains “Unclear, all signs point toward Georgia as a perennial leader in growing jobs and creating economic opportunity for all.”
The Labor Department said there was an increase in employment, as jobs increased by 15,500, or 0.3 percent, over the month and by 69,900, or 1.4 percent, over the year.
The following sectors notably had the largest employment gains during the month: professional, scientific and technical services; durable products; manufacturing; health care and social assistance; wholesale trade and finance and insurance.
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