Job figures trend in positive direction in southwest Georgia

ATLANTA — Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the southwest Georgia region posted an excellent March as many critical job measures trended in the right direction.

Butler noted employed residents increased in March, while the unemployment rate fell over the month from 5.1 percent to 4.6 percent.

“It’s good to see such a strong report in March,” Butler said. “So many of our local communities are trending in the right direction in terms of job creation and hiring. And, we are even seeing records in many places.”

In March, the number of employed residents in the southwest Georgia region area climbed to 144,718. That total ranked 10th among the 12 regional commissions in Georgia. Southwest Georgia added 111 employed residents for the month and 743 over the past year.

Only four regions in the state added more than 1,000 employed residents for the month, officials with the Georgia Department of Labor said.

The southwest Georgia labor force ended March at 151,762. That number is down 596 over the month and down 554 over the past 12 months. Only five regions saw their workforce grow in March. At the same time, the jobless rate fell to 4.6 percent, a drop of .5 percent over the past 30 days.

A year ago, the jobless rate in southwest Georgia was 5.5 percent.

Labor officials said areas served by Georgia’s 12 regional commissions had unemployment rates that varied from a low of 3.5 percent in the Georgia Mountains to 5.2 percent in the River Valley region. For the southwest Georgia region, initial claims for unemployment were up about 24 percent for the month and up about 25 percent for the year.

The southwest Georgia region includes Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas and Worth counties.

Employ Georgia, GDOL’s online job listing service, at www.employgeorgia.com showed 1,126 new active job postings in the southwest Georgia region for March.

Visit www.dol.georgia.gov to learn more about career opportunities, Employ Georgia and other GDOL services for job seekers and employers and to connect on social media. The website also has further information on labor statistics for the state.

Jennifer Parks