Brunswick sees positive annual numbers for employment starting 2020

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Brunswick’s annual numbers for employment remain strong, starting 2020 in a positive fashion.

According to preliminary data, the three-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) also showed fewer claims for unemployment were filed this January, than December 2019.

“Over the year, we are still seeing positive data and our unemployment rates are still some of the lowest ever on record,” Butler said.

In Brunswick, the unemployment rate increased 0.6 percentage points in January, reaching 3.5 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.4 percent.

Brunswick ended January with 43,700 jobs. That number decreased by 1,000 from December to January, a traditional occurrence after the holiday season, and remained flat when compared to the same time a year ago.

The labor force decreased in January by 159 and ended the month with 52,160. That number is down 121 when compared to January of 2019.

Brunswick finished the month with 50,339 employed residents.  That number decreased by 465 over the month but is up by 340 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went down by about 15 percent in January. When compared to last January, claims were up by about 39 percent.

The three-county MSA includes Brantley, Glynn and McIntosh counties.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 647 active job postings in metro Brunswick for January.