The Georgia Department of Labor has reported that the state’s unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in February, down by .3 percentage points from January and by 7.7 percentage points since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The rate stood at 3.5 percent a year ago.
Georgia’s unemployment rate was 1.4 percent lower than the national rate last month.
The number of jobs statewide rose by 1,700 over the month to total 4,452,900 in February; that number is down by 213,600 compared to last year.
First time unemployment claims decreased by 15 percent over the month, but rose by 396 percent over the year.
The number of employed Georgians and the state’s labor force have both seen increases since the beginning of the pandemic.