Georgia unemployment rate holds steady in October

ATLANTA — Georgia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged last month at 3.4%, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The Peach State’s jobless rate was half of a percentage point below the national unemployment rate.

Both the labor force and number of employed Georgians hit all-time highs at 5.35 million and 5.17 million, respectively. But the number of jobs fell by 1,100 in October, the first decrease since October of last year, when jobs declined by 2,700.

Nonetheless, job numbers in two employment sectors — private education and health services as well as leisure and hospitality — reached record highs of 674,600 and 530,700 respectively.

Initial unemployment claims rose to 21,669 last month, up 3% compared to October a year ago. Year over year, jobless claims increased by 4%.

In October, 83,000 job openings were listed on the department’s website. The top five occupations on the list were health care, with 14,150 openings; sales, with 11,375 listings; hospitality, food and tourism, with 8,100 openings; business management and operations, with 7,825 listings; and information technology, with 5,775 openings posted.

Special Photo: Phoebe