Mark Butler, Georgia’s Labor Commissioner, has reported that the state set a record again in September for total employed residents. Georgia continued to exhibit improvement in other key measures like unemployment claims, labor force and the unemployment rate, according to preliminary data by the state’s Department of Labor.
Georgia’s unemployment rate stood at 3.5 percent last month, a decline from 3.6 percent in August and from 3.7 percent in September 2018. The state’s all time low of 3.4 percent was set in December 2000.
Butler says that he is not currently focused on breaking this state’s record low for unemployment; his primary goal is to put Georgians to work.
The national unemployment rate was also 3.5 percent in September, a decline from 3.7 percent in August.
Georgia lost 2,100 jobs last month to bring the total number of jobs statewide to 4.64 million, an increase of nearly 80,000 from September 2018.
Jobs were up by 1,000, or 2.4 percent, to 42,400 in September 2019 in Metro Rome.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined statewide by two percent over the month and rose by about two percent over the year.
First-time UI claims increased in Metro Rome by 187, or 105.1 percent, over the year to 365 in September 2019.
The number of employed residents across the state rose to 4.93 million to set a new record. The labor force additionally grew to bring the total to over 5.1 million.
Connect with the Georgia Department of Labor online for more labor market data and information about services for job seekers at www.dol.georgia.gov.