Georgia’s job market stayed strong in December, with employers adding more workers to payrolls and unemployment staying low.
But other numbers continues to show a shrinking labor force, and rapid job growth seen in early 2022 has ebbed, showing an economy that has plateaued.
The state’s unemployment rate was steady from November to December at 3%. That’s down from 3.3% a year ago, but up from the all-time low of 2.8% in the late summer.
The labor force fell for the sixth month in a row, while the number of people reporting they had a job fell for the fifth month. The number of Georgians unemployed and seeking work inched up to 157,000.
The number of workers on employer payrolls — the top labor market measure for many economists — rose by 10,000 from November at 4.84 million. That’s 165,000 above payroll levels last year.
