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Atlanta’s jobless rate rose in December to 7.6 percent —- its highest level since the government started keeping track in 1990 —- as the region shed 9,100 jobs.
The month’s results capped a year in which the metro area lost 82,000 jobs across a wide range of sectors and saw the unemployment rate soar 69 percent.
And while that was the unpleasant picture in the rearview mirror, other reports are portents of pain to come, said Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University.
“The news today is pretty bad,” he said. “Local job losses reflect the lack of demand now. The issue is future demand.”
A report showed new home sales plunging to an all-time low. A separate report showed orders for durable goods dropping 2.6 percent in December, the fourth decline in five months.
“The corporate sector is throwing in the towel and cutting capital expenses, which means that future growth is also hurt,” Dhawan said.
The U.S. unemployment rate last month was 7.2 percent, but Georgia and Atlanta jobless numbers have been higher than national levels for the past year.
Neither Atlanta nor Georgia has been insulated from this recession the way they often were in previous downturns.
This time, several sectors —- trade and housing —- which were key to the area’s growth, became virtual targets for trouble in the past year, said Owen Malcolm, chief financial officer at Sanders Financial Management in Norcross. “First to grow, first to go.”
The worst-hit area in Georgia has been Dalton, where both head winds hit at once: textile manufacturing relied on both trade and new home construction.
On Thursday, Dalton’s jobless rate became the first in Georgia to hit double-digits, reaching 11.2 percent, according to the Labor Department.
Real estate has long been a crucial part of the local economy, and it was especially important in pulling Atlanta out of the 2001 recession.
Homebuilding led the growth that followed, accounting for tens of thousands of jobs from roofers to real estate agents, from bricklayers to lawyers. Moreover, the steady rise of home values added to consumer net worth and helped spur their spending.
Then the housing bubble burst.
But the expansion had also depended on the region’s ties to trade which fueled job growth in logistics and transportation and manufacturing.
Yet even in the worst times, some companies hire and some sectors grow.
In metro Atlanta, the healthiest sector seems to be health care, where about 100,000 people work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
By far, the two largest job categories are health care support —- representing 36,920 positions —- followed by 31,530 registered nurses and 10,000 vocational nurses in metro Atlanta. The state Labor Department has projected that healthcare hiring will continue with jobs for nurses, medical assistants, dental assistants and other related jobs.
But some smaller niche industries are also hiring.
Georgia is —- by culture and climate —- a hospitable home to golf, for example. And many of the 558 golfing facilities in the state are doing well, said Phil Berry, an Atlanta-based employment consultant to the Professional Golfers Association.
A 2003 study by Georgia State found 31,000 people employed in golf, two-thirds of them full-time. The industry has grown since then and is optimistic now, he said.“I wouldn’t say we are recession-proof,” he said. “But people who may not travel to play golf will still play golf at their local clubs. Right now, the golf business still has jobs available and there are still people hiring.”
Yet persistent problems in the housing and financial markets make it near-certain that this year-old recession will go on awhile.
“The worldwide recession changes the equation,” Malcolm said. “I don’t feel that we are at the bottom yet. If we are halfway through it, I’d take that.”
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