Over the last year, industrial employment in Georgia has increased 0.5 percent, according to the 2013 Georgia Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News Inc. in Evanston, Ill.
This means Georgia gained 2,603 industrial jobs between April 2011 and April 2012 and now employs 474,267 workers at 9,845 manufacturers.
"After several years of job losses stemming from the recession and the dwindling textiles/apparel industries, Georgia is finally seeing an improvement in its manufacturing sector," says Tom Dubin, president of MNI. "The state's friendly business environment, solid infrastructure and quality work force have been a draw for a variety of enterprises, particularly in the auto sector."
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Georgia's largest industrial sector by employment is food products, which accounts for 66,279 of the state's jobs, up 0.5 percent over the past year. Textiles and apparel comes in at second with 56,320 industrial jobs, down 2.6 percent, followed by industrial machinery and equipment with 42,894 industrial jobs. This is nearly the same from a year ago.
Among the employment gains are rubber and plastics at 5.8 percent, transportation equipment at 3.9 percent, primary metals at 3.9 percent and chemicals at 1 percent, according to MNI. Losses are in furniture and fixtures at minus 6.5 percent; lumber and wood at minus 2.2; and stone, clay and glass at minus 2.1 percent.
Northwest Georgia employs the most positions with 287,347 jobs, up 2.1 percent over the year, MNI finds, and Northeast Georgia comes in at second with 73,890 jobs, down 1 percent. The South Central region is offers 41,564 jobs, a 3.4 percent decline, while Southeast Georgia houses 37,119 jobs for no significant change. Southwest Georgia is has 34,347 industrial workers, down 3.6 percent.
Atlanta is Georgia's top city for industrial employment as it employs 57,186 manufacturing jobs, up 4.9 percent in the last year. Dalton employment grew by 1.8 percent, making it home to 21,585 industrial workers while Norcross accounts for 17,273 industrial jobs, down 1 percent. Alpharetta offers 15,143 jobs, representing a 0.5 percent increase, and Marietta accounts for 15,113 jobs, down 2.4 percent.
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