Heart of GA lowers rate in October

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Heart of Georgia region posted a lower unemployment rate in October.

At the same time, the number of employed residents increased in October across the 17-county area, preliminary numbers show.

“October was a great month for Georgia and our local communities,” Butler said. “We continued to create jobs and people gained employment – often at record numbers.”

Nationally, the unemployment rate climbed in October to 3.6 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points. The nation also grew to its labor force by 325,000, increased employment by 241,000 and added more 125,000 jobs.

Georgia’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell in October by 0.1 percentage points to 3.4 percent. That tied Georgia’s all-time low set in December of 2000.

Rates fell or held steady across nine of Georgia’s 12 planning regions. Seven set or tied a record for lowest rate ever.

In Heart of Georgia, the unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percentage points in October, settling at 4.2 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.5 percent.

The labor force in Heart of Georgia decreased by 282 in October, bringing the total to 116,150. The number has decreased by 1,239 when compared to the same month a year ago.

Heart of Georgia added four employed residents in October, bringing the total to 111,289. The number is down 822 for the year.

Claims for unemployment insurance were up by about 32 percent in October. They were down by about 31 percent when compared to the same month a year ago.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 877 active job postings in Heart of Georgia for October.

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.

This is a press release from the Georgia Department of Labor.