Commissioner Mark Butler’s comments on the june unemployment rate– click here
The unemployment rate in Georgia rose to 7.4 percent in June, according to a press release by the Georgia Department of Labor.
Dr. John Gibson, assistant professor at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Department of Economics, said the summer season affected the unemployment rate.
“While Georgia’s unemployment rate increased over the past two months, from 6.9% in April 2014 to 7.4% in June 2014, much of this increase was driven by seasonal factors such as temporary layoffs in manufacturing and non-contract government workers that transition into unemployment during summer months,” Gibson said.
Despite Georgia’s unemployment rate rising to 7.4 percent last month, employers have created 81,100 jobs since June of 2013, according to the release. This is the largest job growth in this period since 2006.
Gibson said a modest recovery in the housing market and new policies favoring business contributed to this growth.
Of the highest growth rate in the state, the professional and business services sector created 27,100 jobs, according to the Georgia Nonagricultural Employment statistics.
John Rad, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Labor, said the statistics do not show how many of these employees reside in the state.
Gibson said the employment numbers should improve over the next few months.
“If these job losses were driven by temporary factors, we should see a strong reversal in the unemployment rate over the next few months,” Gibson said.
