Behind Georgia’s title as the top state for business are the people who earned it through sincere effort — the men and women who show up every day to build, innovate and provide for their families with integrity.
With a record 5.5 million Georgians fueling our economy and annual wage growth reaching up to 4.3% across key sectors, our workforce is driving unprecedented success. Hardworking families are the foundation of our state, and when they thrive, Georgia succeeds.
My perspective on this work is deeply personal. In 1962, my grandparents fled Communist Cuba, arriving in America with nothing but three kids, $25 and a relentless desire to work hard and build a better life.
I am a first-generation American and Georgia’s first Latina constitutional officer, and my heritage shapes everything I believe about opportunity. My family’s bold journey taught me a fundamental truth: That a good job transforms everything, often generationally. Beyond a steady paycheck, gainful employment offers self-worth, independence and the dignity of honest work — providing every Georgian a pathway to a mortgage-paying career.
Finding qualified workers is a key for employers
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
When Gov. Brian Kemp appointed me labor commissioner in 2025, I promised that the Georgia Department of Labor would be an architect of opportunity and serve as a partner to our citizens, not an obstacle.
Drawing on my private-sector background as a journalist, economic developer and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, I brought a practical, business-minded approach to state government.
I understand what workers need to get ahead and what employers need to grow. Connecting job creators with local talent isn’t abstract policy to me — it is my daily mission.
To deliver on that promise, we got straight to work fixing what was broken, transforming a dated department into an agile, modern and service-focused agency built to move at the speed of business.
Our most urgent priority is restoring accountability by executing the largest unemployment insurance modernization in state history. For too long, brittle, 1980s-era legacy systems frustrated applicants and exposed businesses to bad actors.
Today, we are building a secure cloud-based platform designed to accelerate legitimate claims, root out fraud and remove the bureaucratic delays holding back both the parent trying to get back to work and the small business trying to hire her.
At the same time, we are unleashing economic power by connecting hardworking Georgians with mortgage-paying jobs and supporting the businesses that power our economy.
Businesses and Main Street entrepreneurs are at the center of our workforce strategy. Finding qualified workers remains one of their greatest operational challenges. The department is expanding user-friendly job-matching infrastructure and building direct talent pipelines to help employers recruit efficiently, scale and compete globally.
Higher wages are an aim of partnerships
Crucially, we are building talent equipped for the future of work. Through our role on the Governor’s Top State for Talent Strategy Team, GDOL is bridging state agencies, higher education, and private industry.
By forging strong partnerships with K-12 schools, technical colleges, universities, and sector leaders across healthcare, advanced manufacturing, technology and the trades, we are aligning training programs directly with real-world, high-demand careers that pay higher wages.
Ultimately, a dynamic 21st-century economy must also be a safe and fair one. As artificial intelligence and rapid workplace demands evolve, GDOL supports working Georgians by partnering with employers to foster safe workplaces, expanding skills training that drives earning power, and ensuring every worker can build a secure, prosperous future for their family.
By modernizing our infrastructure, expanding access to economic mobility, and supporting policies that reward real effort, we are ensuring economic growth reaches every corner of our state — from Southwest Georgia to the Blue Ridge Mountains. When government works, people can work. When families thrive, Georgia wins. We have built extraordinary momentum, but our work is far from finished.
This campaign has always been about the future of our state’s families. Together, we will keep Georgia working and keep our economy growing.
Bárbara Rivera Holmes is Georgia Labor Commissioner, a statewide elected official. She is seeking reelection in the Nov. 3 election.
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