The Savannah metro area unemployment rate in July was 9.2 percent.
That’s an increase over June but not an alarming one. When the Georgia Department of Labor releases data for cities and counties, the numbers are not adjusted for ordinary seasonal trends. If we adjusted that July rate for seasonality, it would most likely be a few tenths lower.
The unemployment rate for the Savannah metro area — Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties — was 9.5 percent in July 2011. So we’re headed in the right direction, albeit slowly.
Still, why did the unemployment rate decline over the last 12 months when last week’s Department of Labor estimates showed that we only added 1,000 payroll jobs in that same time period? We need to add at least twice that many every year just to keep pace with population growth.
The main answer is that the unemployment rate and the payroll jobs number come from different surveys. The number of jobs is determined by a survey of payroll establishments. The unemployment rate comes from a survey of households that has a broader definition of employment.
If you’re still awake, it’s worth taking a look at a few other numbers that the Department of Labor releases each month but which rarely get reported.
We focus on the metro area and statewide data, but the DOL also releases estimates for regions, counties and the state’s larger cities.
The Coastal Georgia region — the same area that recently rejected the T-SPLOST — had an unemployment rate in July of 9.7 percent compared to 10.1 percent in July 2011. That suggests an alarmingly slow jobs recovery in the region.
Yes, consumers would have taken a small hit if we had passed the T-SPLOST, but the additional investments in transportation certainly would have created jobs in the near term and would have strengthened the regional economy over the long term.
Of course, that argument did not seem to carry much weight with the electorate.
Sticking closer to home, Chatham County’s unemployment rate declined from 9.8 percent to 9.5 percent over the last year. Effingham County’s rate declined from 8.6 percent to 8.1 percent.
But Bryan County’s unemployment rate increased from 8.2 percent to 8.5 percent in July 2011 to July 2012.
Many of Georgia’s larger cities have considerably higher unemployment than their counties and metro areas. The same is true for the city of Savannah, where the unemployment rate was 10.8 percent in July.
That’s down quite sharply, however, from 11.5 percent in July 2011.
Math whizzes might know what’s coming next.
The unemployment rate has been falling much faster in the city of Savannah than in Chatham County as a whole. In fact, the data suggests the unemployment rate in the rest of the county — outside the Savannah city limits — has actually increased slightly to 8.3 percent over the last year.
Could the city really be improving faster than its suburbs at this point in our long, choppy economic recovery? It sure looks like it right now.
There are no estimates for small municipalities, so I don’t know which other cities or areas of the county are faring better or worse. I welcome readers’ thoughts on that.
More changes on the local restaurant scene
In Tuesday’s column, I talked a little about the unique establishments that have long fueled Savannah’s restaurant scene. More than a few have risen to national prominence.
So it was interesting last week to read in this paper about the owners of Locos on Broughton Street disaffiliating from the regional chain and planning to open a new establishment called Satisfied.
I’m excited to see the changes to the interior that include alterations to the central staircase. The current stairs created awkward spaces in the large bar area and presented logistical problems when the restaurant hosted live music.
The former Locos is not the only restaurant getting a major makeover. As was also recently noted in this paper, Clary’s on Habersham Street has closed and will be reopened by the local Gaslight Group as The 5 Spot.
On Sept. 4, Gaslight Group will also temporarily close B. Matthew’s Eatery for significant renovations. The restaurant at Bay and Habersham streets is scheduled to reopen in September.
And last week I finally made it to the new bar at Blue Turtle Bistro at the corner of Paulsen and 66th streets. That restaurant is also part of the Gaslight Group owned by Jennifer and Brian Huskey.
On the night a friend and I dined at the Blue Turtle bar, guitarist Sasha Strunjas and violinist Ricardo Ochoa — two of the members of Velvet Caravan — were playing in the corner.
We ended up ordering five of the new small plates from the restaurant’s diverse menu. That made a filling and interesting dinner for two, with just $25 spent on food.
Both Blue Turtle and Pub 29 next door are meeting a portion of the pent up demand for restaurants, bars and neighborhood hangouts in the big stretch from Victory Drive to DeRenne Avenue. They are immediately surrounded by offices used mainly during the day, which mitigates or eliminates potential problems from nighttime traffic and noise.
I’ve written a lot this year about underutilized spaces being targeted for new development. We’re also seeing businesses like the old Locos and the Gaslight Group reinvesting in existing spots.
It’s a good sign — and another indication of an ongoing economic recovery.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net and http://www.billdawers.com. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.