Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Georgia
Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, notably as economic experts bandy around the idea of a potential recession by 2023. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2008-2010—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of October of this year, national unemployment is at 3.7%, 0.2% higher than in September. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 2.0% in Minnesota, to 4.5% in Illinois and 4.7% in the District of Columbia. Further breakdown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows yet another county-based spectrum within each state.
To that end, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rate in Georgia using data from the BLS. Counties are ranked by unemployment rate in September 2022.
#50. Lincoln County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 3,507 (113 unemployed)
#49. Seminole County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: 0.0%
- Total labor force: 2,962 (96 unemployed)
#48. Towns County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 4,273 (137 unemployed)
#47. Appling County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: +0.1%
- Total labor force: 8,890 (292 unemployed)
#46. Jefferson County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 6,966 (228 unemployed)
#45. Montgomery County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.1%
- Total labor force: 3,724 (124 unemployed)
#44. Murray County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 15,309 (499 unemployed)
#43. Baker County
--- 1 month change: -1.0%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
- Total labor force: 1,119 (38 unemployed)
#42. Irwin County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 3,527 (119 unemployed)
#41. Laurens County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 19,183 (643 unemployed)
#40. Meriwether County
--- 1 month change: -1.0%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 9,053 (305 unemployed)
#39. Peach County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 11,914 (401 unemployed)
#38. Toombs County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 11,739 (395 unemployed)
#37. Baldwin County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 17,736 (622 unemployed)
#36. Early County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 4,203 (149 unemployed)
#35. Warren County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 2,629 (91 unemployed)
#34. Mitchell County
--- 1 month change: -1.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 7,979 (284 unemployed)
#33. Stewart County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: +0.1%
- Total labor force: 2,566 (92 unemployed)
#32. Wilcox County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: 0.0%
- Total labor force: 2,701 (96 unemployed)
#31. Wilkes County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 3,652 (133 unemployed)
#30. Bleckley County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 4,587 (170 unemployed)
#29. Chattooga County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 9,229 (346 unemployed)
#28. Emanuel County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 8,572 (318 unemployed)
#27. Macon County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 4,524 (169 unemployed)
#26. Treutlen County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: +0.3%
- Total labor force: 2,560 (94 unemployed)
#25. Turner County
--- 1 month change: -1.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
- Total labor force: 3,211 (120 unemployed)
#24. Washington County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 6,541 (239 unemployed)
#23. Ben Hill County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 5,479 (208 unemployed)
#22. Jenkins County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 3,145 (119 unemployed)
#21. Muscogee County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 75,843 (2,855 unemployed)
#20. Screven County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 4,962 (190 unemployed)
#19. Sumter County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 11,995 (453 unemployed)
#18. Taylor County
--- 1 month change: -1.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 2,846 (109 unemployed)
#17. Chattahoochee County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 1,907 (75 unemployed)
#16. Clayton County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
- Total labor force: 141,562 (5,486 unemployed)
#15. Dooly County
--- 1 month change: -1.0%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
- Total labor force: 4,642 (180 unemployed)
#14. McDuffie County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 8,374 (323 unemployed)
#13. Randolph County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 2,338 (91 unemployed)
#12. Taliaferro County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 534 (21 unemployed)
#11. Richmond County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 82,588 (3,263 unemployed)
#10. Dougherty County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 36,870 (1,499 unemployed)
#9. Twiggs County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.1%
- Total labor force: 2,794 (116 unemployed)
#8. Terrell County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 3,527 (155 unemployed)
#7. Wheeler County
--- 1 month change: -1.0%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 1,614 (75 unemployed)
#6. Hancock County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 2,508 (117 unemployed)
#5. Burke County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 8,984 (429 unemployed)
#4. Crisp County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
- Total labor force: 9,295 (443 unemployed)
#3. Quitman County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: +0.2%
- Total labor force: 745 (36 unemployed)
#2. Telfair County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 3,562 (203 unemployed)
#1. Clay County
--- 1 month change: -1.2%
--- 1 year change: -2.6%
- Total labor force: 847 (60 unemployed)