Georgia’s job market flashed mixed signals in December, with employers adding more people to payrolls and the unemployment rate ticking down even as the labor force shrank. The new figures were released Thursday.
Budget Director Kelly Farr told lawmakers that Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration will keep using federal coronavirus aid to cover the cost of state unemployment benefit. Kemp wants to avoid an unemployment tax increase on employers. Georgia’s unemployment rate fell to 5.6% in December from 5.7% in November. The number of people seeking jobs fell by about 30,000. Georgia businesses added 45,000 people to payrolls in December. That was the best month for payrolls since June.
