Coastal Georgia’s Unemployment Rate Dropped in January

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Coastal Georgia’s unemployment rate decreased in January.

“In January we saw the rate drop across all regions and counties,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. “Starting the year off strong with such a positive indicator is promising, especially as we learn to adapt to this everchanging workforce due to COVID.”

In Coastal Georgia, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points, bringing the rate to 5 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.5 percent.

Coastal Georgia ended January with 320,294 employed residents.  The number increased by 28 in January but was down 6,088 as compared to last year.

The labor force decreased in January by 2,285. The January total was 337,154. That number is down by 1,114 from the total from January 2020.

Initial claims for unemployment increased by 9 percent in January. When compared to last January, claims were up by about 321 percent.

The GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 7,329 active job postings in Coastal Georgia for January.