“What we are finding is that we are getting more and more requests for on the job training from employers”, Barber said.
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August’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percent from last month to 3.7 percent.
Last month, the Midwest posted the lowest regional unemployment rate of 4.6 percent, while the West had the highest rate of 5.7 percent.
Georgia’s unemployment rate has dropped to 5.9 percent, its lowest level since the spring of 2008. The result, 25,800 workers, was 9.3 percent more than were working in the field a year before.
The civilian labor force, the number of people working or looking for work, shrank by 12,000, but still remained above 6.4 million.
Weaver said that someone who works for the National Forest Service in a seasonal position locally might be laid off and move into the retail sector around the holidays.
Another bit of good news was that nonfarm payroll jobs also increased, said Greg Kaza, executive director of the Little Rock-based Arkansas Policy Foundation.
“The trends have been pretty positive, particularly in service sector jobs”, Michael Pakko, an economist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, told Arkansas Business.
Metro area data released Thursday show the Columbus area adding 2,200 jobs over the past year, with a total job count of 124,100 in August.
“This is the first time Georgia’s unemployment rate has dropped below 6 percent since May 2008″, said Georgia’s Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.
Oil prices that are sharply lower than a year ago contributed to job losses and higher unemployment in several states, including Alaska, North Dakota, and Texas. The August figure was four-tenths of a point under the August 2014 rate of 3.2 percent, however.
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Georgia’s job growth is slightly behind the national average, but the Peach State added 2,200 new jobs since July.
