Published Friday, January 27, 2012

Coweta's jobless rate at 9 percent for December

From STAFF REPORTS

news@newnan.com

Coweta County's unemployment stands at 9 percent, the latest figure available, which is from December.

That's up slightly from 8.8 percent in November 2011 and down from 9.4 percent for October 2011.

The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that the preliminary unemployment rate in the Three Rivers planning area rose to 10.4 percent in December, up two-tenths of a percentage point from 10.2 percent in November. The jobless rate in the Three Rivers area in December a year ago was 11.1 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined in December for the third straight month, dropping to 9.7 percent, down from a revised 9.8 percent in November. The jobless rate was 10.4 percent in December a year ago.

Metro Athens and Warner Robins had the lowest area rate at 7.3 percent, while metro Dalton had the highest at 12.1 percent.

The state rate declined because 11,500 Georgians went back to work in December, according to the state labor department. Statewide, there were 600 new construction jobs, and manufacturing grew by 400 jobs. Job gains also came in information services and trade and transportation.

The county-by-county rates for the Three Rivers region for December and the two previous months are:

• Coweta, 9.0; November was 8.8 percent and October 9.4 percent.

• Butts, 11.7; November was 11.4 percent and October 12.2.

• Lamar, 12.3; November was 12.6 percent and October 12.4;

• Upson, 11.4; November was 11.4 percent and October 11.8;

• Spalding, 12.7; November was 12.4 percent and October 12.8 percent;

• Pike, 9.8; November was 9.8 percent and October 10.5 percent;

• Meriwether, 12.4; November was 12.8 percent and October 13.9 percent;

• Troup, 10.3; November was 10.1 percent and October 11 percent;

• Heard, 11.1; November was 11.1 percent and October 11.3 percent; and

• Carroll, 9.9; November was 9.6 percent and October 10.5 percent.

Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us .

Based on data for the first quarter of 2011, Coweta County is seeing a relatively robust job growth (up 3.3 percent compared to 2010Q1), economics professors at the University of West Georgia recently reported. This was well above the state growth of 1.1 percent.

Coweta's vibrant health care sector added 6.5 percent more jobs between 2010Q1 and 2011Q1. The local health care sector is expected to continue to grow, with construction on the new Piedmont Newnan Hospital and Cancer Treatment Centers of America facilities nearing completion.

Coweta's large service sector also saw employment expand by 3.8 percent in early 2011.

MBM Foodservice recently announced it will expand its Georgia operations by opening a food distribution facility in Coweta County, creating 108 new jobs.