Atlanta Unemployment Up Slightly In June

Date: July 23, 2015

Metro Area’s Unemployment Rises To 6%

According to Georgia Department of Labor data issued Thursday, the metro Atlanta area saw a June unemployment rate of 6%, up from 5.9% in May. Despite the rise in unemployment, the rate is down year-to-year. In June 2014 the metro area had unemployment of 7.3%, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. Atlanta saw 3,500 fewer net jobs for the month, with a total of 2,579,300 jobs remaining in the metro area. Additionally, initial claims for unemployment insurance were up 14.4% in June to 15,737 claims. Job losses were seen in the health and education sectors, the state government, and in leisure and hospitality. However, the professional and business services, other services, and IT and manufacturing sectors all posted job gains. Since June 2014, the metro region has added 77,300 new jobs, a growth rate of 3.1%. Of those jobs, 20,300 were in the professional and business services sector. Another 17,700 jobs were added in trade, transportation, and warehousing, while 13,400 jobs have been added in education and health services.

What This Means For Small Businesses

Metro Atlanta’s small businesses are seeing mixed signals from the latest state jobs data. Though some sectors are continuing to hire, and despite year-to-year job growth, there was a slight pullback in jobs for the month, and the unemployment rate rose, as did the number of first-time unemployment insurance claims. Still, overall economic trends appear positive, indicating a continued upswing in demand for the area’s small businesses as the city continues to recover from the recession.

Additional Reading

NFIB previously noted metro Atlanta job data.

Note: this article is intended to keep small business owners up on the latest news. It does not necessarily represent the policy stances of NFIB.

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