Metro Atlanta’s jobless rate jumps to 10.5 percent in June
The unemployment rate in metro Atlanta skyrocketed to 10.5 percent in June, from a revised 9.7 percent in May, the state labor department said Thursday.
The jobless rate is now higher than a year ago, when it was in 10.3 percent.
“The increase was caused primarily by two seasonal factors,” Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement. (Metro Atlanta’s rate is not seasonally adjusted.) “There were layoffs among non-contract public school employees, such as bus drivers and janitorial workers, and an increase in the labor force, as students began looking for permanent or part-time jobs.”
Metro Atlanta had a net loss of 4,600 jobs, with additional layoffs in manufacturing, trade, administrative and support services, health care and social assistance, the labor department said.
Among the core metro counties, Clayton had the highest unemployment rate at 13 percent. Fulton posted 11 percent, followed by DeKalb (10.8 percent), Cobb (9.8) percent and Gwinnett (9.4 percent).
In the city of Atlanta, unemployment hit 11.8 percent — up from 10.6 percent a year ago.
Last week, the labor department said Georgia’s unemployment rate, which is seasonally adjusted, rose to 9.9 percent in June, from a revised 9.8 percent in May.
June marked the 47th consecutive month Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9.2 percent.
- Henry Unger, The Biz Beat
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245 comments Add your comment
Remember When
July 28th, 2011
10:27 am
Just 30 yrs ago, my father and non-working mother supported 6 children, 40 acres of land with a 4,000 ft farmhouse, 3 cars, a pickup truck, a recreational boat, a fishing boat, a hunting cabin with 30 acres, and a lake-side lot with trailer for weekend summer trips on a truck driver salary….. in New York State, 25 minutes from Albany.
I remember when Burger King offering 3 burgers fo a $1 and bowling was 4 games for a $1 anytime after 6PM. Remember when gas stations had to sell gas by the 1/2 gallon because the machines only had room for 99.9 cents/gallon? Anf you received a free sports glass with a $10 purchase?
Remember when the average person could live nicely on $10/hr wages? Where have all the good times gone? My first guess: Wall Street.
Yo FLetch
July 28th, 2011
10:30 am
If you can’t be nothered to vote in either the last 2 elections, you have no say in what has heppened. If you cared, you’d take time away fro the AJC opinion boards and VOTE!
Lazy = Stupidity
Fletch
July 28th, 2011
10:35 am
Yo Fletch -”If you can’t be nothered to vote in either the last 2 elections, you have no say in what has heppened. If you cared, you’d take time away fro the AJC opinion boards and VOTE!”
Okay, 1. There has been NO candidate in the last 2 election cycles that was even worth considering. 2. I’m not supporting a position, party or individual either way. I am however, pointing out when peole make asinine comments based on nothing more than partisan talking points. And 3. My weekend started yesterday after spending the previous week overseeing the ranch operations in Montana. So if it’s alright with you, I’ll probably spend the rest of my day drinking beer on my deck in Savannah and continuing my position statements.
Uninformed = Stupidity
Fletch
July 28th, 2011
10:36 am
Oh, and Yo Fletch. You still didn’t answer my question.
Mr Logic
July 28th, 2011
10:42 am
Let’s talk economics:
1. Relevent to ATL and other BOOM areas – unemployment will hit harder due to the overbuild and inventory of homes – which affected many supporting industries.
2. Growing the government – and making more people dependent on government is not a sustainable solution – and in the medium to long term – actually be negative as you the tax payers have a much larger entity to support.
3. Read the FAIR TAX book.
4. Economies run in cycles – too often – our leaders get too much credit when the economy is going good – and too much blame when the economy is going bad.
However, the Bush leadership did a poor job in realizing the issues at hand.
The OBAMA leadership has made the situation worst by adding to the debt.
NO COUNTRY HAS EVER SPENT ITS WAY INTO PROSPERITY.
NO COUNTRY HAS TAXED ITSELF INTO PROSPERITY.
NO COUNTRY HAS EVER BORROWED ITSELF TO PROSPERITY.
Both Republicans and Democrats are responsible for the fiscal mess the governement is in.
SOLUTIONS:
1. The government needs to reduce it’s size and scope – which unfortunatley means eliminating thousands of government jobs and “entitlements” that many of us are used to.
2. American citizens need to take more accountability for their well being and future – adopt an attitude of self dependence.
3. We need to ELECT representitives that share the same vision.
4. The tax code needs to change:
– Two of the biggest issues we have are corporations and industries that hire lobby groups to get legislation in place to give them advantages and tax reliefs. The other is citizens that elect offiicals to do the same for them – bring home the bacon at somebody elses expense.
– SOLUTION – The Fair Tax – eliminates all corporate taxes – and corp. welfare and makes all citizens participate in our country. I originally was against this idea – but the more I have learned and studied this – it makes great sense and logic.
The problem is the FAIR TAX takes away power from our elected officials and all but eliminates the IRS. That is an issue for them and that is why they do would not want to change the system over.
3.
2.
Real American
July 28th, 2011
10:43 am
LMAO @ Fletch, the virtual millionaire. LMAO and I believe we have the princess of Zamunda and the CEO of very successful import/export in Dubai posting here too!
RGB
July 28th, 2011
10:44 am
Our politicians know that unemployment is a crisis but yet they play their stupid game of trying to scare us into taking cuts in social programs.
Based on this comment and others, I now know that many people believe there are politicians in Washington with plans to cut government spending. The fact is that none of the major plans–including those from Republicans–cut spending.
So those of you talking about “draconian” cuts do so in light of the fact that, for example, the Republican plans will increase spending by $7 trillion or more over the next 10 years.
Reducing the planned increase inherent in a baseline budget is not a cut–not matter how many times you say it.
Real American
July 28th, 2011
10:44 am
I see Rush Limpballs and Sean Klannity have gotten the talking points embedded really well into a few posters heads.
Tired of Morons
July 28th, 2011
10:46 am
Andy 6:48
Georgia (RED state) unemployment 10.5%
Massachusetts (BLUE state) unemployment 7.4%
Nebraska = Heavier Red than Ga = 4.1 % Unemployment
Oklahoma = Red State = 5.3 %
Dont be a moron Andy!!!
Steve
July 28th, 2011
10:48 am
Here’s an idea for those of you who have been unemployed for a year or more: MOVE. Most of you haven’t been here long anyway or you’d have milked your connections and found something by now.
Fletch
July 28th, 2011
10:49 am
Real American – “LMAO @ Fletch, the virtual millionaire. LMAO and I believe we have the princess of Zamunda and the CEO of very successful import/export in Dubai posting here too!”
Maybe we do, it’s difficult to tell who’s writing on the other side of an anonymous blog. Whether you accept me as credible or not is up to you. For the record, I haven’t alluded to what my financial status actually is other than providing information about hiring activity and what I happen to be doing in my free time. If you draw the conclusion that I’m a millionaire, then that’s your right to do so.
Peter
July 28th, 2011
10:53 am
The unemployment rate means SQUAT. The only way the Labor Department can measure. the unemployment rate is by those who are no longer eligible for unemployment checks. What about those who are part timers? How about the under employed? Or those of us,, after three years of this crap caused by the banks and mortgage companies, have just plain given up? The unemployment rate is over 20% when it is all said and done. Don’t beleive any of the government spin….the ones who are spinning are fully employed.
wow!
July 28th, 2011
10:54 am
How are you going to blame somebody else for your shortcomings??? Maybe if you would be working harder and better, maybe you would have a job. Plus GA is keeping out all of the illegal immigrants because they were taking all of the jobs. How is that working for you???
Stop all the crying and go find a job! If you can’t find one in Atlanta than go move somewhere else. Bunch of cry babies and always want to blame somebody else why something is not working. Start within yourself.
RGB
July 28th, 2011
10:58 am
Earlier someone cherry-picked Massachusetts and Georgia to somehow “prove” that states run by Democrats have lower unemployment rates. That would be like picking Mitt Romney and Joe Biden to prove that Republicans have more hair than Democrats (even with the plugs, or as Biden would call it now a “follicle stimulus program”).
An article published earlier this week rebuts the earlier poster’s hypothesis:
As the battered economy continues to stagnate, the number one issue in Washington is jobs. The dueling talking points of Democrats and Republicans have been repeated ad nauseam, but who really has the better plan to get America working again? In the United States, we are lucky to have fifty laboratories in which to test the question—namely, the states. The results have been clear.
In terms of employment, states with Republican-controlled governments—that is, with a Republican governor and a Republican state legislature—outperform states with Democratic-controlled governments and states with split governments.
Unemployment Rate in Republican-Controlled Governments = 7.87%
Unemployment Rate in Democrat-Controlled Governments = 8.28%
Unemployment Rate in Republican-Controlled Governments = 8.38%
Without resorting to a single talking point, it’s clear that Republicans have the better record on jobs. So what accounts for the difference?
It would be impossible to completely rule out dumb luck, as any serious student of the economy understands that a variety of factors beyond government policy affect employment levels at a given time. The proposition that Republicans fell in soft, however, is incredibly unlikely.
A better explanation is the simplest: that the governing philosophy shared by most Republicans is more conducive to economic growth than the governing philosophy shared by most Democrats.
Leave pseudeconomics to somebody else since yours won’t stand up to even cursory scrutiny.
Here’s the link: http://www.newpolity.com/2011/07/25/unemployment-by-state-gop-bests-dems-on-jobs/
shaggy
July 28th, 2011
11:00 am
I just have to get this up in this blog, for the left/right crowd…both are losers.
If you REALLY, REALLY want change:
VOTE LIBERTARIAN!
BOTH ruling parties are HOPLESSLY CORRUPT.
One wants in my pocket, one wants in my bedroom, and neither secure the borders or insure our liberty, while engaging in worthless foreign ventures. (read Iraq, Libya…Afghanistan should have been won in 2002)
It has become the only way out folks. I know you will mostly vote for “your guy”, because you are mostly morons, and that is sad.
LC
July 28th, 2011
11:00 am
Yeah! Lets vote in an other unqualified president, and maybe he can bring his thugs along to Washington too! that change is working out real good! Well maybe for gay rights anyway.Thats about all though.
RGB
July 28th, 2011
11:01 am
Real American: Rush airs in one hour. Sean @ 4PM. Mark Levin @ 6PM.
They make lots of money! Lots.
Fletch
July 28th, 2011
11:03 am
RGB – “They make lots of money! Lots.”
I think Martin Sheen said it best in Wall Street – ” What you see is a guy who never measured a mans success by the size of his WALLET!!”
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Employed on Easy Street
July 28th, 2011
11:10 am
All the Republican bashing on this blog regarding unemployment in GA tells us one thing: most of the lowest common denominator of the populaation (liberals) are unemployed.
Obama has done more to destroy this economy that any of the previous modern day Presidents. The real powers in this conuntry have no confidence in his leadership and will not do anything to help the economy until his is booted back to the ghetto. The man was given the oval office by a large majority of idiots who voted for him because he was black, what human trash does that? Jimmy Carter should be smiling, because his legacy has gotten a lift due to an ineffective and arrogant Obama as our leader.
The fools that think America can put our armed forces into retirement are morons. The days of no War mean the end as we know it.
So you Obama loving libs wonder why you have no job and no money? Look in the mirror for someone to blame. You are your own worst enemy. The rest of us are laughing all the way to the bank and to early no-entitlement retirement.
Liberals LOVE Conservative Talk Radio
July 28th, 2011
11:13 am
“Real American: Rush airs in one hour. Sean @ 4PM. Mark Levin @ 6PM.
They make lots of money! Lots.”
They make lots of money off of the liberal fan base. The reason left wingers love to hate these guys are because they are their biggest audience. Liberal talking points come from right wing radio! Liberals are making conservative talk LOTS OF $$$$$$$$$$!
zincc
July 28th, 2011
11:15 am
There are a multitude of problems facing Georgia and our Nation. It doesn’t help that the so-called “people in the know” don’t seem to be listening to the average American and his/her wishes regarding how best to help. Increasing and/or continuing to support individuals unwilling (yes, unwilling) to look for a way to help themselves is not going to help. I do realize that there are few jobs out there, I also realize there are people that can’t work and I don’t mind helping. But, when so many people sit at home and do nothing to improve their lot, I want to scream, “Stop enabling them and using my money to do so!” At this juncture, we have got to stop the country from defaulting. However, I don’t want to increase the debt ceiling to such a level that my grandkids’ great-great grandkids are paying the price for us. Oh, guess we’re already there. Well, you get the meaning here. Maybe some of those that moved here from up north and out west and from other countries can go back home and leave Georgians (those born and raised here) alone. Decrease the population here and maybe things will become a bit better. At least there will be less people draining the welfare and unemployment monies!
Small Business Owner
July 28th, 2011
11:16 am
Keep raising taxes on us and see how many people we will hire !
You government educated morons don’t have a clue.
lol
July 28th, 2011
11:16 am
this state is done for…..
VOTER
July 28th, 2011
11:18 am
Higher gas prices. Higher unemployment. Higher grocery prices. Higher utilities.
How’s the “change” you wanted in 2008 working out for you?
stranger in a strange land
July 28th, 2011
11:18 am
Mr Logic @ 1042 – as you can plainly read – there is not much room for actual ‘logic’ on this blog
gm
July 28th, 2011
11:20 am
Oh, but wait all the tea party idiots ran and voted the do nothing rep party back in Nov, they ran on jobs where are the jobs bills? at least the Demo tried to create jobs and saved some jobs, Deal ran on jobs where are the jobs, oh I forgot Obama been the Gov in Georgia for the last 12 years.
Peter
July 28th, 2011
11:22 am
Hey VOTER. How are those Bush Wars doing for you ?
Higher gas prices. Higher unemployment. Higher grocery prices. Higher utilities……..plus house values dropped…..did you get your bailout from the Bush led government ?
Fletch
July 28th, 2011
11:23 am
Small Business Owner – “Keep raising taxes on us and see how many people we will hire !
In the last 3 months We hired:
24 in California
16 in Nevada
4 in Montana
3 in Georgia
What seems to be holding you back?
Peter
July 28th, 2011
11:24 am
Hey Small Business Owner .. are you hiring at all ? In Georgia ?
Bill
July 28th, 2011
11:26 am
Thanks, Obama, this certainly is the change you promised.
Fletch
July 28th, 2011
11:29 am
Bill – “Thanks, Obama, this certainly is the change you promised.”
Unemployment rate in North Dakota as of June 2011 – North Dakota 3.2
Thanks Obama, this is certainly the change you promised
Sounds just as idiotic.
Kerry from Buford
July 28th, 2011
11:37 am
RGB do you pay attention. So why is GA unemployment been so high for years and it has been in the Repuc hands the whole time. Also what does your biased web page say about all the jobs lost durning the Bush years. Oh thats right it was Jimmy Carters fault I am sure. Bush sent more jobs overseas than any president in History. Go search you little Repuc blogs for the total number of jobs lost in his 8 years. Get a clue, people like you are part of the problem and not the solution. VOTE LIBERARIAN and hope for some real change. Two party system and all the blind lambs that follow each to the slaughter are the problem.
lol
July 28th, 2011
11:46 am
hey fletch.. a multi state company counts as a small business HOW?
you are a troll. now go away
Fletch
July 28th, 2011
11:53 am
lol – “hey fletch.. a multi state company counts as a small business HOW?”
Because they’re held under individual LLC’s. Also, because we typically employee less than 100 to 150 people at any given time. The security company in LA is the largest at 125 employees. Even though we just added an additional 24 to that operation, it still falls under the category of a “small business”.
n
July 28th, 2011
11:54 am
Goods are manufactured overseas by multinational corporations using the cheapest labor they can find wherever they can find people willing to work for pennies, and the multinationals now sell most of those cheaply produced goods overseas as well.. U.S. citizens is no longer necessary to the multinationals’ purpose or profits. We are out of the loop. Multinationals no longer care about the economic fate of U.S. citizens..
We individually and as a country have maintained our extravagant and self-indulgent lifestyle for decades based on credit and unconstrained borrowing. The house of cards came tumbling down during the last year of the Bush Administration because the country finally bankrupted itself totally by starting two wars. Don’t blame Obama for the mess he inherited.. Blame Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and the Congress members who allowed the bubble economies based on profligacy and raw greed to reach a monumental, catastrophic tipping point. Obama was handed the Titanic after it struck the iceberg, and now he is berated mercilessly and continuously opposed by the Right because he is unable to save us from the mess that they helped create.
.
lol fletch
July 28th, 2011
11:55 am
so you basically shift rotate (aka fire and hire) people all the time.. gotcha. yeah i too can add 40 people THIS month if i fired 45 LAST month
like i said you are a troll and an idiot. go away
Fletch
July 28th, 2011
11:57 am
lol fletch – “so you basically shift rotate (aka fire and hire) people all the time.. gotcha. yeah i too can add 40 people THIS month if i fired 45 LAST month”
Where did I say that we fired anybody? The hiring we did in the last 3 months was due to expansion. Prior to that we were static for about 6 months.
Peter
July 28th, 2011
12:00 pm
Hey n… You hit the nail on the head……. What would McCain and Palin have done better ?
SLAPPIN' DE BASS MAN...
July 28th, 2011
12:04 pm
Frankly, to blame President Obama for the State’s failure to attract and create jobs is a cop out and a Faux News talking point. Industry comes to locations that are serious about education, infrastructure, sound government principles, not obnoxious, uneducated, and fickle governmental leaders who think that any plan counter to their desires and the desires of those who line their pockets don’t get a say and then put in place laws that are as Drachonian one can imagine. Thanks Governor Deal, the Georgia State Republicans, and the rest of the assorted fruitcakes they form this constituency….
Ghost of GWB
July 28th, 2011
12:06 pm
If these numbers had come out while Bush II was in office, the press would have crucified him. Of course, Obama gets a pass.
Crazy.
@ slappin
July 28th, 2011
12:07 pm
Rush are pretty awesome, aren’t they? Good choice of music!
Rawdog
July 28th, 2011
12:09 pm
For all you clowns who voted for 0 (that’s Obama), he has done nothing since getting elected. No new jobs, no bridges, no infrastructure improvements, nothing. He is a loser and a hick who only appeals to the blacks. He has really helped his “people” while running the country into the ground. When you vote for change this is what you get.
Fletch
July 28th, 2011
12:11 pm
Rawdog – “no infrastructure improvements,”
Hey now, the ride up 575 is pretty sweet thanks to the ARRA. Not supporting Obama, but that stretch of road used to suck. Now it only sucks becuase it’s always backed up with traffic.
ADD
July 28th, 2011
12:16 pm
Yeah, that’s right…The high unemployment rate here in GA is all the fault of us transplants (I have been here for 21 years – I guess I have overstayed my welcome – never mind that I pay taxes on multiple homes here and have been a productive, educated, civic minded citizen for those 21 years). We are the fault of all that is wrong with Georgia. Go home, Yankees!
The overdevelopment, the traffic problems, the suburbal sprawl hideousness, the p!ss-poor public education system, the crime, the endless vacant strip malls, the government corruption. It’s all OUR fault. We all need to get out and Georgia will once again be what it was.
The spirit of Lewis Grizzard lives on…
ADD
July 28th, 2011
12:21 pm
I forgot to add the weak economy and the high unemployment rate to the list of ills created by the transplants. Without us here, I’m sure that the economic engine off Georgia would be chugging along very nicely…
add14jazz
July 28th, 2011
12:22 pm
You partisan lunatics blame EVERYTHING on anything you think is threatening you, when in fact its hardly the case. Katrina folks? What????? Give me a break. That’s completely illogical. The issue is the direction of the country over the past 12 years is backward. We are waaay too foolish in thinking everybody should have been buying homes in the 90s; we ALL lived happily in debt and now the entire bubble is popping. Get real! The problem isnt from any one sector of people, a president or Congress that’s been around for less than three years (the current make up, I mean). It’s the nation’s lack of commitment to its PEOPLE and too much commitment to CEOs, shareholders and others who continually shut down their businesses to make more money (they aren’t losing money. they are making less money) when they should INVEST IN AMERICA! Let’s be honest and quit blaming our issues on everybody else. WE ARE TO BLAME! Let’s quit the blame game, the stay elected in Congress game and start playing the “we are all in this together” song and fix this mess!!!
shaggy
July 28th, 2011
12:25 pm
ADD
“I forgot to add the weak economy and the high unemployment rate to the list of ills created by the transplants. Without us here, I’m sure that the economic engine off Georgia would be chugging along very nicely…”
No, but there would be a helluva lot less whining.
Hootinanny Yum Yum
July 28th, 2011
12:26 pm
Why didn’t the Democrats push a budget bill through Congress and have it signed by the President over 15 months ago when it should have been done (and has usually been done)?
They didn’t want the budget numbers to impact the 2010 elections. They kept kicking the can down the road.
And you morons are pissing and moaning about the Repubs. Ha!
ADD
July 28th, 2011
12:28 pm
shaggy
July 28th, 2011
12:25 pm
ADD
“I forgot to add the weak economy and the high unemployment rate to the list of ills created by the transplants. Without us here, I’m sure that the economic engine off Georgia would be chugging along very nicely…”
No, but there would be a helluva lot less whining.
No, there wouldn’t be. I’m sure you native Georgians would find SOMETHING else to whine about…
shaggy
July 28th, 2011
12:33 pm
ADD,
“No, there wouldn’t be. I’m sure you native Georgians would find SOMETHING else to whine about…”
Yeah, maybe, but it wouldn’t be so grating on the nerves as the banal nasal tones of the yanks. I ‘ll rather listen to a ya”ll over a you’se guys anyday.