Job openings for Georgia and South Carolina in August were released last week. In Georgia, they fell 11 percent but in South Carolina, they fell just 1 percent.
There are still over two job openings for every unemployed worker in Georgia and South Carolina. These job openings numbers impacted the Augusta Leading Economic Index which fell 0.9 percent in August, from July.
In the local labor market, employment increased by 900 jobs to 244,700 and unemployment remained at 3.3 percent. The labor force shrank by 500 people and earnings fell by 2.4 percent. The average number of hours worked remained unchanged at 35.9.
Overall, the Augusta Labor Market Index (LMI) increased by 1.6 percent from a year ago.
Across Georgia, labor markets remain strong in Atlanta, Athens, and Savannah, while Columbus has been improving for six months.
Interestingly, Gainesville saw a decline in the LMI. Since 2007, when data is available to calculate the LMI, Gainesville has had the second-strongest growth after Atlanta. Gainesville saw declines in the labor force, earnings, and average hours worked over the last three months. Along with Dalton, they saw an increase in the unemployment rate, although it remains historically low at 2.2 percent.
