Georgia unemployment rate steady in January despite job losses

Georgia’s unemployment rate in January held steady from the month prior, though the state saw job losses in numerous sectors, according to figures released Thursday by the state Department of Labor.

The number of jobs in the state declined by more than 28,000 compared to December, however the labor force also shrunk at the beginning of the year. ;

The state’s unemployment rate of 3.6% remains better than the national average of 4%. Initial unemployment claims climbed in January by 3,448 to 34,494.

“Georgia’s economy is built for the future, but to maintain our competitive edge we must remain committed to making Georgia the top choice for businesses and talent,” the state’s interim Labor Commissioner, Louis DeBroux, said in the release.

Jobs weren’t down across all sectors. Some industries actually saw gains, like durable goods manufacturing and government jobs.

“It’s fair to say, nationwide and here in Georgia, the pace of employment growth is moderating. But so far, at least, it remains a situation where we’ve got pretty tight labor markets and a lot of economic opportunity,” Roger Tutterow, professor of economics at Kennesaw State University, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Here’s what you need to know about the report.

What does unemployment look like in Georgia?

The unemployment rate in January was 3.6%, the same as the revised figure for December.

The number of jobs declined from the previous month by 28,200 to nearly 5 million. Labor force participation decreased slightly — by about 6,500 workers.

“One of the tricks with looking at employment data is there are some strong seasonal patterns, and one of the patterns we typically see is for employment to drop in January because a lot of the activity in the hospitality industry and retail sales wanes,” Tutterow said.

Year over year, the number of jobs in January 2025 was higher than in January 2024 by nearly 18,000.

What industries had the largest declines in jobs in January?

The sectors with the biggest job losses were:

“It’s a little bit surprising to see the transportation and warehousing come down,” Tutterow said. But part of that is “the postpandemic surge in freight was probably satisfied by the latter part of 2022. So, if you talk to transportation companies, they will tell you nationwide things have been a little bit soft over the last couple of years.”

What industries had the biggest job growth in January?

The sectors with the largest job gains were:

From January 2024 to January 2025, the number of federal workers in Georgia increased by 4,900 jobs. But President Donald Trump has vowed to drastically cut the size of the federal workforce.

On Jan. 20, his first day in office, he signed an executive order reclassifying tens of thousands of federal workers to make it easier to fire them. He also froze hiring of federal civilian employees. About a week later, on Jan. 28, the administration sent a message to millions of federal workers offering them a buyout.

Georgia’s January jobs numbers would not reflect this. Trump’s mass firings of federal workers started in February, though the administration has rescinded some of those termination notices and attorneys are fighting other firings in court.

“I expect that when you start seeing the employment numbers in March and April, you may see some effect there,” Tutterow said about the federal job cuts. “I think everyone should be prepared for the data being a little bit dirty over the next several months, because the changes in head count at the federal level could swing the overall numbers a little bit.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Report for America are partnering to add more journalists to cover topics important to our community. Please help us fund this important work here.