The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced Thursday morning the unemployment rate in the Northeast Georgia region in October was 4.8 percent, down five-tenths of a percentage point from 5.3 percent in September. The rate in October 2015 was also 5.3 percent.
The rate declined, as more residents went to work there were fewer layoffs, according to State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.
The number of employed residents increased by 1,264 to 279,071, while the number unemployed decreased by 1,466 to 14,163. The labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, declined by 202 to 293,234.
The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, declined by 731, or 37.1 percent, to 1,240 in October. Most of the decrease came in wholesale trade and administrative and support services. Over the year, claims were down by 198, or 13.8 percent, from 1,438 in October 2015.
Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.4 percent, which is unchanged from September.
The Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest rate at 7 percent.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for October was 5.2 percent, up from 5.1 in September. It was 5.5 percent in October 2015.
Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use the GDOL’s online job listing service, www.employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employers. In October, 2,974 new job openings in the Northeast Georgia region were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 70,200 new job openings were posted.
Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.georgia.gov
