Unemployment rate falls in NE Georgia, while unemployment insurance rate rises

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Northeast Georgia set a record in November for the number of employed residents while at the same time it also saw it’s unemployment rate fall. Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said critical indicators for the year were positive.

“As we move through this holiday season, it’s exciting to see our communities doing so well,” Butler said. “While monthly numbers fluctuate, we continue to see long-term trends going in the right direction.”

Butler said the unemployment rate for November, at 3.1 percent, was down 0.3 percent over the previous month. A year ago the rate was at 4 percent. The unemployment rate for Georgia is 3.5 percent, down from 4.5 percent a year ago.

The November rate tied for second among the 12 regions. The Northeast Georgia region includes Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Walton counties.

However, the labor force in Northeast Georgia fell by 429 in November to reach 310,504, but that number is up by 5,741 over the past year, an average monthly increase of about 475.

Northeast Georgia gained 534 employed residents in November, pushing the total to 301,024 – an all-time high. The number is up 8,353 for the year or about 700 per month. Claims for unemployment insurance, however, rose by 10 percent in November. That is up by 12 percent when compared to the same month a year ago.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,093 active job postings in Northeast Georgia for November.

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