As the Gainesville metro set another jobs record in August, the area also saw the unemployment rate move down a bit.
Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that preliminary numbers showed Gainesville post annual gains in labor force and employed residents. Meanwhile, the number of monthly unemployment claims fell for the one-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA).
"It’s good to see so many of our communities doing well,” Butler said. “We continue to add jobs at a record rate and see claims for unemployment fall. Overall, August was a strong month across the state.”
Gainesville’s unemployment rate fell in August, decreasing by 0.1 percentage points to settle at 2.9 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.2 percent.
Gainesville ended August with 97,000 jobs. The MSA gained 1,000 new jobs over the month and was up 3,900 jobs when compared to this time last year.
The labor force decreased in August by 282 to reach 104,015. That number is up by 2,655 from the total of August 2018.
Gainesville ended August with 100,998 employed residents. The number decreased by 220 in August but was up by 2,900 over August 2018’s total.
The number of unemployment claims fell in August by about 25 percent and were down by about 27 percent from the same period last year.
The one-county MSA includes Hall County.
