NW Ga. area jobless rates fall in April
Gordon County boasts the best rate in the region at 2.4%.
More than 4,400 Northwest Georgians were without jobs in April even as the unemployment rate dropped from March reports but was mostly up from the same month last year.
Gordon County continued to have the lowest percentage of people idle at 2.4% while Chattooga again had the most, 4.1%. Floyd reported the most people filing for unemployment, 1,433 followed by Bartow at 1,367.
The county-by-county reports from April 2023 and the same month a year ago:
Gordon: 2.4%, the same as 12 months earlier.
Floyd: 3.2% vs. 2.7%
Bartow: 2.6% vs. 2.4%
Polk: 3.3% vs. 3.4%
Chattooga: 4.1% vs. 4.8%
“With Georgia’s economy continuing to soar, the state unemployment rates remain steady,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson. “When you consider the number of existing companies expanding throughout the state combined with the incredible announcements of corporations moving to our state, the future continues to look very bright for the labor market. “As we approach the summer months, we are optimistic that job growth will remain steady in virtually every sector in the state.”
Reports for the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, which includes Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker and Whitfield counties.
The unemployment rate was down to 2.8%.
The labor force was down by 3,569 from March.
The number of employed was down 1,418 from the month before.
Initial claims were up 1,035 (35%) from March.
The latest reports come as area high schools and colleges are mostly out for summer, which will bring more applicants into the work force. The demand for mostly full-time workers remains high with online job postings plentiful across the area.