NW Ga. sees dip in jobless rate in Feb.
Rome recorded an unemployment rate of 2.9% in February, down four-tenths from January and the same month in 2023.
The decrease was a bit of a surprise following the Dec. 31 layoffs of 50 to 70 employees at Summit Mill Foods’ downtown Rome operation.
There were 1,390 Floyd residents identified as jobless in February vs. 1,558 a year earlier when the unemployment rate was 3.3%, the state Department of Labor reports. In all, 4,734 people in our five-county area were listed as jobless last month, down 10.1% from 5,325 a year earlier.
A county comparison shows:
Ƈ Bartow: 2.9% jobless rate, down from 3.3% a year earlier. Unemployed: 1,562 vs. 1,725 in February 2023.
Ƈ Gordon: 2.9% unemployment rate vs. 3.3%; 854 people were listed as jobless vs. 966 a year ago February.
Ƈ Polk: 3.2% vs. 3.6%; 607 people were identified as unemployed last month vs. 681 in February 2023.
Ƈ Chattooga: 3.4% jobless rate vs. 4.2% as of February 2023. Unemployed last month: 321; a year earlier, 395.
Closer look at Rome/ Floyd County:
Ƈ The labor force decreased by 65 and ended the month with 48,590. That number went up by 1,725 when compared to February 2023.
Ƈ Initial unemployment claims decreased by 745 (-78%). When you compare February 2024 claims to February 2023, claims were down by 162 (-44%).
Across Northwest Georgia:
Ƈ The unemployment rate was down three-tenths to 2.9% vs. January and 3.3% a year ago.
Ƈ The labor force was up 2,354 vs. January and up 7,134 from a year earlier to 444,693, an all-time high.
Ƈ Initial claims were down 5,587 (-72%) from January and down 991 (-31%) from February 2023 to 2,172.
Who’s hiring:
Ƈ Eighty jobs were posted on the Rome Floyd Chamber’s employment page as of Thursday morning, mostly with local schools, colleges and governments.
Ƈ Some 37 jobs were posted on the Cartersville-bartow County Chamber site, dominated again by Georgia Highlands College.