NE Georgia initial unemployment claims decline; labor force grows in June

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said last week that the Northeast Georgia region grew its labor force and added employed residents in June. The Northeast Georgia region includes Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Walton counties.

The 10-county area also posted a monthly decrease in initial unemployment claims. In Walton County, there were nine initial claims in the local workforce development area and a total of 114 in the County for June 2019. That compares to 136 in June 2018. This is down 16.2 percent ove the last year.

“Georgia’s been in an extended growth cycle,” said Butler. “In June, our state and local communities added jobs and employed more people.”

Nationally, the unemployment rate inched up 0.1 percent points in June to reach 3.7 percent. Georgia’s rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to settle at 3.7 percent.

In the region, the unemployment rate increased in June by 0.5 percentage points, settling at 3.7 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.2 percent.

The labor force grew in June by 1,563. The June total was 305,854. That number is down by 225 from the total of June 2018.

The Northeast region ended June with 294,678 employed residents.  The number increased by 252 in June and went up 1,340 when compared to last June.

The number of unemployment claims decreased in June by about 4 percent. When compared to last June, claims were down by about 15 percent.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,633 active job postings in Northeast region for June.

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