Metro Atlanta Employment Hits Record High as Georgia Jobless Rate Rises to 3.5%

Q: How can Metro Atlanta celebrate record-breaking employment numbers while simultaneously losing 2,300 nonfarm jobs in the exact same month?

There is no contradiction. The two figures come from different labor-market surveys that measure different things. The record Metro Atlanta numbers refer to the household survey, which counts people: how many residents are working and how many are in the labor force, meaning working or actively looking for work. By that measure, Atlanta reached new highs in September because more people were employed and more people were participating in the job market than ever before. The reported loss of 2,300 nonfarm jobs refers to the establishment, or payroll, survey, which counts jobs at employers, not workers. One person can hold more than one job, and payroll totals exclude some categories such as the self-employed, many farm workers, and unpaid family workers. Because of that, payroll jobs can fall in a given month even while the number of employed people rises. Timing and volatility also matter. Monthly payroll changes are often noisy, subject to seasonal effects, and frequently revised. A loss of 2,300 jobs in a large metro economy is a relatively small monthly move, especially against the broader backdrop of a labor force up more than 69,000 over the year and employment up nearly 62,900. The slight rise in unemployment to 3.5% fits that same picture. It can increase when more people enter the labor force faster than jobs are added immediately. So Atlanta can post record employment levels, a bigger workforce, and a small one-month payroll decline at the same time.

2 articles · Updated · WSB Atlanta · Oct 25

September data showed metro Atlanta’s 29-county labor force and employment both reached all-time highs, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.
Over the past year, the region added more than 69,000 people to the labor force and nearly 62,900 employed workers, reflecting sustained regional growth.
Georgia’s statewide unemployment rate still edged up 0.1 percentage point to 3.5% in September from 3.4% a year earlier, even as hiring and labor-force participation increased.
State labor officials said the gains underscore Atlanta’s role in Georgia’s broader economic expansion and its push to remain attractive to employers and workers.