The May jobs report for the Gainesville metro was a mixed bag, according to Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.
The unemployment rate rose by 0.1% from April to May, reaching a level of 2.7%. A year ago, as the pandemic surged, the rate was 7.6% for the one-county metro area.
Butler said over-the-month and over-the-year initial claims for unemployment dropped, and those numbers are a positive note in the monthly report.
"This is a step in the right direction, but we need to continue to get Georgians back to work,” said Butler. “Increasing the amount of people in our labor force is critical for us to continue to improve.”
Other statistics in the May report included:
- The labor force decreased in Gainesville by 551 and ended the month with 104,047. That number is up 2,498 when compared to May of 2020.
- Gainesville finished the month with 101,234 employed residents. That number decreased by 665 over the month and is up by 7,425 when compared to the same time a year ago.
- Gainesville ended May with 93,300 jobs. That number increased by 300 from April to May and increased by 5,000 when compared to this time last year.
- The number of unemployment claims went down by 18% in May. When compared to last May, claims were down by about 89%.
The May report for the Georgia Mountains Region showed similar trends. The unemployment rate for the 13-county region was 2.8%, up by 0.1% from April. The labor force decreased and the number of employed residents also declined. Initial claims for unemployment for the region declined by 19% in May.
The Georgia Mountains Region includes Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union and White counties.
