The latest employment report was released by the Department of Labor (DOL) on Thursday. The unemployment rate in Gainesville is down five-tenths of a percent over the month. That percentage was consistent with the numbers across Northeast Georgia. Georgia’s Labor Commissioner, Mark Butler, said in the report that the unemployment rate was 2 percent in September. A year ago, the rate was 2.4 percent.
The report shows good news as Gainesville ended September with 98,800 jobs, an all-time high. When compared to September 2021, job numbers rose by 3,400.
"We continue to see a steady rise in job creation and demand by employers to fill open positions,” said Commissioner Mark Butler. “This strong growth has led to Georgia having the fewest unemployed residents in over 20 years."
The number of those employed was also up in the Georgia Mountains Region, which includes Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union and White Counties. The number of employed was up 2,418 over the month and down from the year before. Initial claims were up 1% for the month and up 16% compared to the year before.
In Gainesville, the labor force increased in Gainesville by 333 and ended the month with 106,103. That number rose by 1,584 when compared to September 2021. Gainesville finished the month with 834 more people employed than the month before. That was an increase of 1,803 people employed when compared to the same time a year ago.
The number of unemployment claims decreased by 27 percent in Gainesville in September. When compared to last September, claims were up by about 15 percent.
In the Georgia Mountains Region, in September there were 3,752 jobs still active on the website Employ Georgia, which is the GDOL’s online job listing service.
