Northwest Georgia Sees Surge in Job Count

There’s another stunning surge in Rome-Floyd local jobs showcased in the June employment report from the state Department of Labor.

An astounding 4,300 jobs were added in the 12 months between June of 2023 and last month, the latest update shows.

The Rome/Floyd job count was at 47,600, the same as in May but up significantly from 43,300 workers in June of last year. The labor department chart shows the first big jump occurred last August and has mostly grown since.

Rome/Floyd’s year-over-year increase is a robust 10%.

The labor department also reports “all-time highs” in June for the number of people working in Georgia even as the jobless rate rose a tick to 3.2%. That, in part, was attributed to an influx of student workers as high schools and colleges break for summer.

Perhaps underscoring the Floyd report was a 56.2% drop in first-time unemployment claims in June (235) compared to May (536 claims) and down 35.6% (365 claims) from 12 months earlier.

A county-by-county comparison shows:

Bartow:♦ 184 claims, down from May and from June 2023.

Gordon:♦ 155 claims, a mixed report — down from May but up from 12 months earlier.

Polk:♦ 87 claims, down from both May and from June 2023.

Chattooga:♦ 54, the only local county to report an increase from May but still down from the same month last year.

Who’s hiring:

Rome Floyd Chamber:♦ 127 positions were available on the chamber’s jobs board as of Wednesday afternoon, one of the highest counts seen in months. Many are associated with area colleges as well as local government.

Cartersville Bartow Chamber:♦ 59 openings were posted as of Wednesday afternoon, including numerous spots at Georgia Highlands.

The state:

♦ Georgia’s June unemployment rate was 3.3%, up a tenth from May.

♦ Jobs were up by 8,900 (0.2%) over the month and up by 64,200 (1.3%) over the year to 4,979,800, an all-time high.

♦ The labor force was up by 15,502 to 5,391,294, a record, and has increased by almost 48,000 over the past three months. The labor force was up by 81,242 over the past 12 months.

♦ The number of employed was up by 8,493 to 5,214,373, an all-time high, and was up by 74,279 over the past 12 months.

♦ The number of unemployed increased by 7,009 to 176,291 and was up by 6,963 over the past 12 months.

♦ Initial claims were up by 1,833 (9%) over the month to 21,867 in June. Initial claims were down by 1,610 (-7%) over the year.