Unemployment continues slide downward
Polk rate stands at 3.9 percent for initial claims in April, down from month and year prior
The unemployment rate is well below what it was last year, with more than a full percentage drop in Polk County compared to 2017.
That’s good news for local residents worried about being out of a job, because that’s an indicator that hiring is up overall.
Some 730 people sought initial unemployment benefits in April, down from 805 in revised figures for March, and the 953 mark that Polk County stood at in April 2017.
In terms of percentages, Polk County stands at a 3.9 percent unemployment rate initially, compared to 4.3 percent in the previous month and 5.2 percent in April 2017.
Those are big decreases c o mpared to the higher unemployment levels seen during the recession, and in the years following as it slowly trickled back down current levels.
Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Northwest Georgia region saw a drop in the unemployment rate and a decrease in initial unemployment claims in April.
The Northwest Georgia region includes Bartow, Chattooga, Catoosa, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield.
However, Butler noted that the labor force and number of employed residents fell for the month, though all indicators for the year remain positive.
“Even though we did see some fluctuations in the employment and workforce numbers across the state, job growth continues to be very strong,” Butler said.
In April, the number of employed residents in the Northwest Georgia region fell to 406,945.
Northwest Georgia lost 231 employed residents for the month but remains up 11,811 over the last year. Only five of Georgia’s 12 regional commissions saw an increase in employed residents.
The Northwest Georgia labor force ended April at 422,108. That number is down 2,465 over the last month but up 8,359 over the last year.
The jobless rate fell to 3.6 percent, a drop of .5 percent over the past month. A year ago, the jobless rate was 4.5 percent. The rates in Georgia’s 12 regions vary from a low of 3.1 percent in the Georgia Mountains to 4.7 percent in the River Valley region.
In the Northwest Georgia region, initial claims for unemployment were down about 54 percent for the month and down almost 28 percent for the year.