ATLANTA - Georgia's job growth is ranked among the 10 worst in the country, and the industries adding jobs the fastest don't pay enough to afford the median-priced home, according to a quarterly economic report released Tuesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

For April-June, payroll growth in Georgia was only 0.5 percent higher than the same period in 2004, and less than one-third of the nation's tempo. Georgia's pace is behind what it was before the 2001 recession even though more than 400,000 people have come to the state seeking work since then.

Five Georgia metro areas, Augusta, Columbus, Dalton, Macon and Warner Robins, have fewer jobs than before the recession.

The FDIC notes that homebuilding has been a factor in the economy recently, largely because of low interest rates. Though residential construction only makes up 5 percent of total employment in the state, it accounted for more than half of the state's total new jobs since the recession.

The report also raises concerns by showing that wages in growing sectors aren't high enough for the people taking those new jobs to afford a mid-priced house.

The $147,569 median-price house is out of reach for those in the administrative, education, food-service and lodging industries, according to the analysis. Only the health-care field is growing and pays enough on average to make a housing purchase.

Reach Walter Jones at (404) 589-8424 or walter.jones@morris.com.