Heart of Georgia lowers claims in June

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Heart of Georgia region saw fewer new claims for unemployment filed in June.

Preliminary results showed the 17-county area also saw its number of employed residents and labor force decrease in June.

“Georgia’s been in an extended growth cycle,” said Butler. “In June, our state and local communities added jobs and employed more people.”

Nationally, the unemployment rate inched up 0.1 percent points in June to reach 3.7 percent. Georgia’s rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to settle at 3.7 percent.

In the region, the unemployment rate rose in June by 0.7 percentage points, settling at 5.4 percent. A year ago, the rate was 5.3 percent.

The labor force decreased in June by 1,168. The June total was 116,389. That number is down by 1,462 from the total from June 2018.

The Heart of Georgia region ended June with 110,140 employed residents.  The number decreased by 1,949 in June and fell by 1,406 as compared to last June.

The number of unemployment claims dropped in June by about 11 percent. When compared to last June, claims were down by about 34 percent.

The Heart of Georgia region includes Appling, Bleckley, Candler, Dodge, Emanuel, Evans, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Wayne, Wheeler, and Wilcox counties.