Local jobless rate continues to rise

Published 7:30 am Friday, August 26, 2011

Uncertainty about the slumping economy — and how bad it could get — is making small business owners hesitant to hire workers and contributing to the soaring local unemployment rate.

“I was talking to a business owner last week who needed to buy some office equipment, a new computer program, that said, ‘You know, I think I’ll hang on with and make do with what I’ve got a while longer,’” said Marilyn Helms, a business professor at Dalton State College. “I understand that mentality, but I said, ‘You may be one of the main reasons the economy is where it is.’”

The preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in metro Dalton (Murray and Whitfield counties) increased to 12.5 percent in July, up from 12.1 percent in June, according to the state department of labor. The jobless rate in metro Dalton in July 2010 was 11.7 percent.

Last month, metro Dalton had a net loss of 1,200 jobs, with about 600 of those in service-related industries and 500 in state and local government. More layoffs came in manufacturing and administrative and support services.

Helms said many factors contribute to the reluctance of businesses to make new hires and spend on investments, from the unusually hot weather to high gas prices.

“I think consumers have got to start spending,” Helms said. “They have to start feeling a little more confident in the economy and give these small businesses some reassurance that not only current business, but maybe some future business down the road, will improve, that they can go ahead and make these purchases.”

Shaw Industries recently announced plans to cut jobs at three plants, including one in Eton. Although job losses continue to mount in Murray and Whitfield counties, local officials are trying to bring more jobs to the area. Department store Kohl’s, which is currently under construction on Shugart Road in Dalton and will open next month, is expected to employ 130.

The lowest metro area jobless rates were recorded in Athens and Warner Robins (both 7.9 percent), while the highest was in the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha area near Dublin (12.8 percent).

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 10.1 percent in July, up from 9.9 percent in June. The state’s jobless rate was also 10.1 percent in July 2010.

“The July increase, as in June, was due primarily to the traditional seasonal layoffs, with about 80 percent of them in state and local education,” the state department of labor said.