ATLANTA — The unemployment rate in the Northeast Georgia region in August was 5.6 percent, according to numbers released Thursday morning by the Georgia Department of Labor. Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the August number is down six-tenths of a percentage point from 6.2 percent in July. The rate in August 2014 was 7.3 percent.
The rate declined as the number of unemployed residents decreased by 1,713 to 15,608. Also, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 429, or 24.3 percent, to 1,337 in August. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing, administrative and support services, wholesale and retail trade, health care and social assistance, and accommodations and food services. Over the year, claims were up by four, or 0.3 percent, from 1,333 in August 2014.
Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.8 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7.7 percent.
The number of jobs in Gainesville increased by 900, or 1.1 percent, in August to 82,400. The job gains came mostly in local government, trade transportation and warehousing, and the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction.
Over-the-year, Gainesville gained 2,100 jobs, a growth rate of 2.6 percent, from 80,300 in August 2014. Most of the job growth came in the service-related industries such as trade, transportation and warehousing, along with the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for August was 5.9 percent, down from 6.0 percent in July. It was 7.1 percent in August 2014.
Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted.
