Georgia’s labor force and employment in March rose to record highs of 5.4 million and 5.2 million, respectively, the state Labor Department (GDOL) announced today.
The March unemployment rate was 3.5%, which is 0.8 percentage point lower than the national unemployment rate and 0.1 percentage point higher than Georgia’s rate one year ago. This is down from a revised 3.6% in February.
Unemployment declined by 1,203 to 192,991 and increased by 10,618 over the past year.
The sector reaching an all-time high for jobs in March 2026 was health care and social assistance, 641,700.
Jobs were down over the month in accommodation and food services, 1,300; construction, 1,200; real estate and rental and leasing, 900; professional and technical services, 600; and private educational services, 600.
The sectors with the most job gains over the past year were health care and social assistance, 24,600; local government, 3,800; arts, entertainment, and recreation, 2,300; state government, 2,100; and other services; 2,100.
Jobs were down over the year in federal government, 12,000; accommodation and food services, 4,100; retail trade, 3,600; transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 3,300; and construction, 2,700.