Northwest Georgia Unemployment Continues to Rise

Some 5,036 area residents were listed as jobless in March, up 124 people or 2.5% from the same month in 2023.

The latest unemployment reports from the state Department of Labor show Floyd, Bartow and Gordon counties all saw a bump in the jobless rate year-over-year, with Chattooga and Polk showing a slight drop.

The only major change in recent months has been the layoff of 50 to 70 workers at Summit Hill Foods in Rome. Some of those workers will be recalled as the company expands its Old Lindale Road operation.

A county-by-county comparison shows:

♦ Floyd: 3% jobless rate in March with 1,482 people idle vs. 1,437 a year earlier.

♦ Bartow: 3.1% with 1,674 out of work vs. 1,637 a dozen months before.

♦ Gordon: Also 3.1% with 910 people jobless vs. 833 in March 2023.

♦ Polk: 3.3% or 640 listed as unemployed compared to 646 a year earlier.

♦ Chattooga: 3.4% or 330 people out of work vs. 359 in March of last year.

The Rome/Floyd March report

♦ The labor force increased by 414 and ended the month with 49,003. That number went up by 1,457 when compared to March 2023.

♦ In March, initial unemployment claims decreased by 2 (-1%) in Rome. When you compare March 2024 claims to March 2023, claims were down by 27 (-12%).

Across the region

♦ The unemployment rate was up two-tenths to 3.1% from February. It was 3.2% a year ago March.

♦ The labor force was up 3,423 over-the-month and up 8,047 over-the-year, to 448,089, an all-time high.

♦ Initial claims were down 355 (down 16%) over-the-month and down 1,164 (down 39%) over-the-year, to 1,817.

Who’s hiring: The Rome Floyd Chamber had 96 openings on its jobs page this week — the most in recent months. Many of the positions were in higher education. There were 45 openings on the Cartersville-Bartow chamber website .