Georgia Mountains’ unemployment rate unchanged

Georgia Mountains’ unemployment rate unchanged at 4 percent in May

ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced today that the unemployment rate in the Georgia Mountains region in May was 4 percent, unchanged from April. In May 2016, the rate was 4.2 percent.

While the rate was unchanged, there were 1,854 more Georgia Mountains area residents employed in May than in April, pushing the total number to 322,801. The increase in the number of employed residents in May grew by 10,692 from May 2016.

From April to May, the labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed and actively looking for jobs, increased by 1,861 to 336,335. As the number of employed residents rose, the number of unemployed increased by seven to 13,534.

Compared to May a year ago, the labor force had a net increase of 10,593. The number of employed grew by 10,692, and there were 99 fewer unemployed.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, declined by 397, or 28.5 percent, to 996. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing and administrative and support services. Over the year, claims were down by 743, or 42.7 percent, from 1,739 in May 2016.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 3.9 percent, while the River Valley region had the highest at 6 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for May was 4.9 percent, down from 5 percent in April. It was 5.3 percent in May 2016.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use GDOL’s online job listing service employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employees. In May, 2,197 new job openings in the Georgia Mountains region were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 70,120 new job openings were posted.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available atdol.georgia.gov

Visit dol.georgia.gov to learn more about career opportunities, Employ Georgia and other GDOL services for job seekers and employers and to connect with us on social media.

DATA FOR THE METRO AREAS ARE ATTACHED, TABLES AND GRAPHS REFLECTING LABOR MARKET DATA ARE AVAILABLE AT http://dol.georgia.gov/current-labor-force-data-and-grants