Job creation up in Georgia, but workforce not fully recovered from pandemic
(The Center Square) – Job creation in Georgia was up nearly 50% in the third quarter of the fiscal year compared with last fiscal year, Gov. Brian Kemp said.
More than 24,000 jobs were created during the first three quarters of fiscal year 2021, which runs from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, as a result of economic development projects in Georgia, Kemp said.
The projects represent more than $8.43 billion in private investments – a 67% increase in new investments compared with the first nine months of fiscal year 2020.
“Creating high-paying jobs for hardworking Georgians – no matter their zip code – has been a key priority of mine since day one,” Kemp said in a statement. “These numbers show that our continued, targeted investments in K-12 education, workforce development, and innovative partnerships are doing exactly what they’re supposed to – delivering opportunities to Georgians in every corner of the Peach State.”
Business expansions in Georgia accounted for 68% of the projects and total investment, Kemp said, and new business locations to Georgia accounted for 58% of the new jobs.
Food processing, manufacturing and logistics and distribution industries accounted for 63% of jobs created by economic development projects. Georgia’s automotive and information and technology industries added nearly 5,000 new jobs in the first three quarters of the fiscal year.
“Georgia’s economy is diverse, promising, and continuing to gain momentum,” Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson said. “One year ago today, we faced an extremely volatile and uncertain economic future. I extend my thanks to all of our private and public sector partners for the incredible amount of resilience they have shown and for helping us maintain Georgia’s position as the No. 1 state to live, work and raise a family.”
Despite the new jobs created by projects announced through the third quarter of the fiscal year, the total number of jobs in Georgia is down slightly year over year, the Georgia Department of Labor said, indicating the workforce still hasn’t fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jobs increased in March by 21,800, reaching a total of 4,486,000, but that total is down 151,000 jobs compared with the same time last year.
“Georgia has gained a vast majority of the jobs that were lost since March of last year, and we continue to remain strong in economic growth and business development,” GDOL Commissioner Mark Butler said.
The unemployment rate for Georgia was 4.5% in March, down 0.3 percentage points from February.
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