Preliminary unemployment numbers down for March in Polk County

The Latest Local News from the Cedartown Standard

Good news for the local economy came out of the Georgia Department of Labor in the early hours of the morning, as the preliminary March unemployment numbers were released.

Polk County’s preliminary unemployment figure for last month is down to 6.8 percent, down two-tenths a percentage point from the revised February figure of 7 percent, and down from the year by 1.2 percent from March of 2014.

Northwest Georgia’s regional overall unemployment rate was down to 6.2 percent in preliminary calculations. In surrounding counties, Floyd County was up to 7.0 percent from 6.9 percent in February and Bartow was at 6.1 percent, down a tenth of a percent from the month before. To the south, Haralson County is at 6.6 percent projected for March, down from 6.9 percent the month before, and to the southeast in Paulding at 5.3 percent projected unemployment, down from 5.5 percent revised in February.

The decrease of the rate, according to Polk County Chamber of Commerce executive director Tamaka Hudson, is just an indication that local residents are getting jobs locally.

“I believe that our community is coming together to help those that have been out of work find jobs and are being a bit more creative in looking. We’re seeking local people to help fill local jobs. I feel like that’s what’s pushed our unemployment numbers down,” Hudson said.

“It’s Polk County helping Polk County,” she said.

She said the preliminary decrease in unemployment also means there’s growth happening in the local economy, and not just in industrial work.

Small businesses, she said, are fueling the increase in hiring in the area. Those businesses are expected to continue to grow, as long as local customers, business leaders and governments continue to support existing and new businesses throughout Polk County.

“I think with programs like the Cedartown Biz Builders, we’re going to start seeing a blossoming of our small business community,” she said. “We love industries, of course. But 80 percent of our local economy is made up of small businesses, and so long as we can continue to help provide resources to those people who want to start a business and see it thrive, with training and education about how to do it right, we’ll continue to see our business community flourish.”

She said further job growth will also come from industrial partners, especially those utilizing pre-built industrial spaces like the SPEC building.

Statewide, preliminary unemployment numbers were set at 6.3 percent, unchanged from the revised figures released earlier today for February 2015. Year to year, unemployment is down statewide a full percentage point from March 2014’s revised 7.3 percent.

Source: Cedartown Standard

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