Kayak tour from Chattanooga to Brown’s Ferry Georgia sets employment records again in May

Are you interested in taking a kayak tour following the same route as the US soldiers who opened the famous “Cracker Line” during the Civil War?

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park would like to invite the public to participate in a free, fourhour, kayak tour with a ranger at 9 a.m. on Friday, June 29.

National Park Partners and the Friends of Outdoor Chattanooga will sponsor an event where visitors will paddle down the Tennessee River, around the tip of Moccasin Bend, while learning about the much needed supply line to help lift the Confederate siege of Chattanooga.

The following reservation and paddler requirements must be met prior to tour participation.

RESERVATIONS

Directions to the launch site will be given with a reservation confirmation. To make a reservation, contact Outdoor Chattanooga at info@outdoorchattanooga. com or at 423-643-6888.

PADDLER REQUIREMENTS

Participants must be 14 years of age or older.

Participants must know how to swim.

Outdoor Chattanooga and the National Park Service reserve the right to cancel a trip at any time at their discretion, due to weather or water conditions. Participants will be notified as soon as possible if there is a cancellation with a rain date of July 13. If you must cancel your reservation for any reason, please try to do so with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice. Please call between the hours of 8 am – 5 pm, Monday – Friday to cancel a reservation.

Georgia once again set records for employed residents, labor force and jobs for May, continuing a trend from previous months, state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said.

The state is approaching the 5-million mark for employed residents. At the same time, Georgia posted more than 4.5 million jobs and a labor force of more than 5.1 million.

The jobless rate, meanwhile, dropped by .1 percent.

“Georgia continues to prove that it is a great place for both employees and employers,” Butler said. “As employers bring more jobs to the state, our labor force is ready and able to fill those jobs.”

In May, Georgia counted 4.93 million employed residents. That number was up by 13,552 over the month and by more than 123,000 since last May. Georgia averaged adding 10,250 a month over the past year.

Likewise, Georgia’s labor force continued to climb, increasing by 6,793 in May to about 5.1 million. It grew by 96,632 over the last 12 months – an average gain of about 8,000.

Butler said both numbers continue trends going back many months.

“The fact that we are seeing these records month after month shows the continuing strength of Georgia’s economy,” said Butler. “In fact, Georgia was recently ranked us as the ninth top-performing economy in the nation.”

Georgia’s April unemployment rate came in at 4.2 percent, the lowest number since August 2001. This is down from 4.3 percent last month and 4.8 percent a year ago.

Jobs were also up by 6,800 in May to 4.5 million. That’s a little better than Georgia’s average over the last year, at just under 6,400 jobs a month.

Over the past 12 months, Georgia added 76,700 jobs.

Most of those job gains came in the trade, transportation, and utilities and leisure and hospitality industries, with both setting all-time highs for jobs within the industry.

Over the past year, Georgia has added more than 10,000 jobs in each of the following sectors: education and health services; trade, transportation and utilities; leisure and hospitality; and construction. Construction in particular has seen an impressive 8.4 percent increase over the last year.

“I’m really encouraged by where we are seeing job growth,” Butler added. “Growth in trade, transportation, and utilities; construction; and manufacturing points to the fact that our economy is thriving.”

The number of unemployment claims filed in May was up almost 5 percent. However, they still remain down by nearly 10 percent over the last year.

There were 76,834 jobs posted on employgeorgia.com during May, up 31 percent over the month. Of those jobs, 36 percent were for STEM occupations.