While the unemployment rate for the Gainesville metro area remained steady for October, the Georgia Department of Labor showed positive movement in three different sectors on the latest jobs report.
Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Gainesville set a series of records in October - in jobs, employment and the labor force. He said Gainesville was not alone in making strides.
"In October we had eight local communities set a total of 13 new records," Butler said. "We increased jobs, employment and added to our labor force in virtually all of our major markets."
Gainesville’s unemployment remained unchanged in October, holding at 2.4-percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.1-percent. The labor force increased in October by 564 to reach 104,958 - an all-time high. That number is up by 1,612 from the total of October 2018.
In addition, Gainesville ended October with 102,461 employed residents - another all-time high. The number increased by 546 in October and was up by 2,281 over October 2018’s total.
Also, Gainesville ended October with 98,000 jobs - an all-time high. The MSA added 800 jobs over the month but was up 3,200 jobs when compared to this time last year.
Butler said the number of unemployment claims increased in October by about 17-percent but was down by about 4-percent from the same period last year.
The one-county MSA includes Hall County.
Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 1,014 active job postings in metro Gainesville for October.
