Southwest Georgia posts record low unemployment rate

ALBANY — Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the southwest Georgia region posted a record low unemployment rate in May.

In addition to a lower unemployment rate, the 14-county area saw increases in the labor force and the number of employed residents.

“Georgia’s economy remains very strong,” Butler said in a news release. “Across the board, the state’s numbers are very positive for the year and many areas continue to set records.”

In May, the unemployment rate in the southwest Georgia region fell 0.2 percent to 4 percent – an all-time low. The new number is a decrease from 5.3 percent a year ago. Statewide, unemployment rates vary from a low of 2.9 percent in the Georgia Mountains to 4.5 percent in the River Valley region.

The number of employed residents in the southwest Georgia region grew to 146,006 — an increase of 1,906 for the month and an increase of 2,870 for the year.

The southwest Georgia labor force ended May at 152,157. That number is up 1,758 over the last month and up 990 over the last year.

In the southwest Georgia region, initial claims for unemployment were up by about 14 percent for the month and up about 10 percent overall 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, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com, showed 897 active job postings in the southwest Georgia region for May.

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