In August 2010, the job situation in this town bordered on desperate.

“I’ve tried temporary services; I’ve tried the Department of Labor. I’ve had many interviews and gone to many workshops, but I have not landed a full-time position yet,” said IT specialist Anita Duckery.

But now, even though unemployment is at 8.7 percent, down only 1.3 percent from August 2010, Andrew Hamilton, chief information officer at Atlanta-based Cardlytics, sees a much different situation.

“There are may be even more jobs out there than qualified applicants,” he said.

He was talking about jobs like those he’s hiring for, which require specialized skills. For the workers who have them, Hamilton said the unemployment rate is less than one percent.

“We’re basically paying about 20-percent more now than we were two or three years ago,” he said. Cardlytics recently hosted a computer code writing competition at Georgia Tech, offering cash prizes and, more importantly, promises of job interviews to the winners.

The unemployment picture may remain dark for a lot of Georgians. But if you’re in the right field, Hamilton said, it’s becoming much, much brighter.