More Jobs in Savannah for 2017
Staff Report From Savannah CEO
Friday, January 26th, 2018
State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said that 2017 was a banner year for job creation, employment and labor force gains in metro Savannah.
The metropolitan statistical area including Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties ended the year with more than 3,000 new jobs, 5,000 more employed residents, a larger workforce, and an unemployment rate down 1 percent. Savannah ranked fourth in Georgia for job creation among 14 MSAs tracked by the Georgia Department of Labor.
“This is a very good year for the Savannah area,” Butler said. “All of the major indicators trended in the right direction. I’m expecting the same will continue in 2018.”
While metro Savannah lost 300 jobs in December, the area netted 3,200 new jobs over 2017 to end the year with 181,200. Most of the job growth came in the goods-producing sector, including manufacturing, construction, mining and logging, along with leisure and hospitality and education and health services.
The metro area also added 135 more employed residents last month. For the year, metro Savannah posted 177,624 employed residents, up by 5,098 in 2017.
Metro Savannah’s labor force, the number of residents with jobs and those unemployed but actively looking for work, grew by 53 in December. Savannah ended the year with a labor force of 185,031, an increase of 3,502 in 2017.
In December 711 initial claims for unemployment insurance were filed, up by 19 percent from the previous month. Since Jan. 1, 2017 initial claims are down by 9 percent from 779. Most of the decrease in claims came in trade, transportation and warehousing, administrative and support services, and health care and social assistance.
Meanwhile, the metro area’s unemployment rate fell from 5 percent to 4 percent over the 12-month cycle. The December rate, at 4 percent, was unchanged from the previous month.