Friday, June 1, 2001

Job growth slows

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said this week that the rate of annualized job growth in the metro Atlanta area slowed to 1.8 percent in April, down from 4.9 percent when compared with the same period a year ago.

Metro Atlanta added 39,600 new jobs from April 2000 to April 2001, down from 103,000 from April 1999 to April 2000.

Meanwhile, the annualized rate of job growth in the state slowed to 2.1 percent in April, down from 3.8 percent when compared with the same period a year ago. Georgia added 81,800 new jobs from April 2000 to April 2001, down from 145,600 from April 1999 to April 2000.

"This is further evidence that our state's economy continues to cool," Thurmond said. "Layoffs are spreading across the economy in several job sectors, such as technology, manufacturing, and retail trade."

While metro Atlanta's April unemployment rate has risen slightly to 2.9 percent in the past year, up from 2.8 percent in April 2000, it was down from 3.1 percent in March.

In Fulton County, the unemployment rate remained unchanged from March's rate of 3.6 percent.

Labor Department officials said the slight one-month drop in Atlanta was due to increased employment among retail trade and service industry workers, plus there were fewer new job seekers entering the labor market.

The unemployment rate only tracks individuals who are unemployed but actively seeking employment.

The state's unemployment rate has averaged 3.7 percent for the past 12 months, including March. It declined slightly to 3.5 percent in April, the same as April 2000.

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