GDOL: GA Mountains adds to labor force

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Georgia Mountains region added to its labor force in December.

The 13-county region also saw its annual number of employed residents increase, according to preliminary numbers.

“Georgia finished the year strong by continuing to add jobs in all major sectors,” Butler said. “Moving forward, we need to attract more people to the workforce, so we can fill these great jobs.”

In the region, the December unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 2.4 percent. It was 3.1 percent one year ago.

The labor force increased in December by 164 to reach 351,286 total members. The number has climbed by 1,585 over the past 12 months.

The Georgia Mountains region lost 160 employed residents in December, bringing its total to 342,837. That number has grown by 4,045 over the past year.

Initial claims for unemployment went up by about 65 percent in December. They are up by about 76 percent when compared to last year.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,671 active job postings in the Georgia Mountains region for December.

The Georgia Mountains region includes Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White counties.