Employment statistics remain strong in 2-state region

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Unemployment stayed low in Georgia in February, as the state’s labor market was strong but stable.

The jobless rate stayed at 3.1% for the seventh month in a row, although it was up slightly from 3% in February 2022. The national rate is 3.6%.

The number of people seeking jobs and reporting they were employed both grew slightly, while the number of Georgians reporting they were unemployed was basically flat at 164,000.

The number of workers on employer payrolls — the top labor market measure for many economists — rose slightly to 4.88 million. That’s 135,000 above payroll levels last January.

About 4,800 Georgia workers filed for new unemployment benefits in the week that ended March 18.

The overall number of people collecting state unemployment was about 29,000 in the week that ended March 11.

In South Carolina

The first quarter of 2023 continues on a steady course, according to South Carolina officials.

The unemployment rate holds at 3.2%, the same as January’s rate, and the number of people working has bounced back up to 2,306,083, just a few individuals shy of the state’s all-time high of 2,306,087 in June of 2022.

The number of payroll jobs reported by employers is at a record high of 2,278,100.

The labor force participation rate ticked up slightly to 55.9% with 2,382,172 people in the labor force, a high for South Carolina.

“As South Carolina continues to boom with business and opportunity, this is a perfect time for all job-seekers to find the right job to help themselves and their families,” said South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce Acting Executive Director William Floyd.

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