Manufacturing is helping to lead Georgia jobs growth

The U.S. Department of Labor has released job growth figures for July 2013 and Georgia is doing well.

Nationwide employers added 162,000 jobs with most of the gains coming in the west and the south.

According to a story from the Associated Press, Steve Cochrane, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, says southern and western states have seen steady growth in manufacturing jobs. And the South is also benefiting from lower taxes and cheaper labor.

‘‘Some of the old, long-standing comparative advantages are re-emerging as drivers of growth,’’ he added.

California led all states in July, creating over 38,000 jobs. Georgia was the second largest job producing state with almost 31,000.