Once again, the Gainesville metro has the lowest unemployment rate of any metro in Georgia, according to numbers released Thursday morning by the Georgia Department of Labor. Metro Gainesville’s unemployment rate for March was 4.5 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 4.6 percent in February. The rate in March 2015 was 4.8 percent.
In contrast, the River Valley region had the highest at 6.9 percent.
The rate declined as employers created 500 more jobs, pushing the total to 85,900, up by 0.6 percent, from 85,400 in February. Most of the increase came in the service-related industries, which includes trade, transportation and warehousing, along with state government, and the goods-producing sector, including manufacturing and construction.
Over the year, Gainesville gained 4,000 jobs, a 4.9 percent growth rate, up from 81,900 in March 2015. Most of the job gains came in the service-related industries, including retail trade and state and local government, and the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction.
The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance was unchanged at 802 from February to March. However, over the year, claims were up by 352, or 78.2 percent, from 450 in March 2015.
Also, Gainesville’s labor force increased by 826 to 94,793.
Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the unemployment rate in the Northeast Georgia region in March was 5.1 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 5.2 percent in February. The rate in March 2015 was 5.6 percent.
The rate declined as the number of employed residents increased by 2,292 to 269,864, and the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased by 10, or 0.8 percent, to 1,304. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. And, over the year, claims were down by 193, or 12.9 percent, from 1,497 in March 2015.
Also, Northeast Georgia’s labor force increased by 1,906 to 284,286.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for March was 5.5 percent, up from 5.4 percent in February. It was 6.2 percent in March 2015.
Butler said job seekers and employers should use the GDOL’s online job listing service, www.employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employees. In March, 2,717 jobs in the Northeast Georgia region were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 78,986 jobs were posted.
Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.georgia.gov.
