September 20, 2002
Albany-- Unemployment in the metro Atlanta area continued to grow in August. But more people found jobs in South Georgia.
Savannah had the biggest growth in Georgia with 1,400 new jobs last month. Albany was second with 500 new jobs. The Labor Department says that shows South Georgia is leading the economic recovery.
Alexis Smith is looking for a job while she finishes college. She is interviewing at CallTech, which is hiring. Smith said "Everything's been slow in the economy. It's a lot better on the young and older alike with jobs being available now."
CallTech filled 80 new jobs this month, and continues hiring. They are having to compete against other companies looking for the best people. Human Resources Coordinator Bridgett Wright said "I just recently came from the Atlanta area, and when I first moved back to Albany, it was very difficult. But that was 6 months ago, and it has progressed a lot since then."
Michael Flowers with the State Labor Department says jobs are growing in Albany. New businesses are moving to Albany, and away from metro Atlanta. "Some of the businesses really don't want to get into that hassle of the metropolitan area. With the advent of the computer you can do a lot of business outside the metro area, and be very successful."
Flowers says South Georgia economic growth will mushroom, bringing more new jobs in the future. "We're seeing pretty much growth in all sectors of our economy. It's slow growth, we're not booming like we want to be. But we're seeing an increase."
More people were without jobs last month in Atlanta, Athens, and Columbus, while South Georgia shows positive economic growth. CallTech says they plan to hire another 100 workers by November.
Currently they employ 210 people at their Albany call center.
posted at 5:55PM by dave.miller@walb.com
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