While Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler continues to think positive when it comes to the employment picture in the Gainesville metro area, he said numbers in the December jobless report may not appear to be good news at first glance.
The unemployment rate for December 2018, at 2.9 percent, was up 0.3 percent over the previous month. Still, Butler said, a year ago, the rate was 3.5 percent.
Butler outlined other numbers for the area in his Thursday report:
- The labor force in Gainesville grew by 40 in December to reach 104,350. That number is up by 2,617 over the past year – an average monthly increase of about 220.
- Gainesville lost 287 employed residents in December, bringing the total to 101,292. The number is up 3,086 for the year, or about 260 per month.
- Jobs dropped by 100 in December to 95,800. The job total in Gainesville is up 3,900 over the year – an average monthly increase of 325.
- Claims for unemployment insurance decreased by 26 percent in December. They were down by 38 percent when compared to the same month a year ago.
Butler said he continues to be encouraged by major indicators in the Gainesville area. .
Major indicators include labor force, job creation and the number of employed residents. While annual numbers for these categories are up, monthly numbers stay down across the one-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA).
Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 727 active job postings in metro Gainesville for December.
The one-county MSA includes just Hall County.
