The unemployment numbers just released for last month show a drop in the unemployment rate for Gainesville and the entire region.
For the month of July, Gainesville recorded an unemployment rate of 2.1 percent, down four-tenths of a percent over the month. A year ago, the rate was 2.7 percent.
The report, released Thursday morning, shows that Gainesville finished the month with 103,140 employed residents. That number decreased by 438 over the month and increased by 1,925 when compared to the same time a year ago. The labor force decreased in Gainesville by 842 and ended the month with 105,390. That number rose by 1,416 when compared to July of 2021. Gainesville ended July with 97,400 jobs.
While the number of unemployment claims in Gainesville increased in July by 34 percent, when compared to last July, claims were down by about 31 percent.
Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 1,969 active job postings in Gainesville for July. That same website shows 3,376 jobs total for our region.
The trend in unemployment rates carried across most of Northeast Georgia, called the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission. The Georgia Mountain region is comprised of Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White counties. For those counties, in the month of July, the unemployment rate dropped four-tenths to 2.4 percent compared to the month before. A year ago, it was 2.8 percent.
The labor force regionally was down four-tenths to 2.4 percent compared to the month before. The labor force was down 1,426 in the month to 236,736. The number of employed was at 231,028, which was down by 547 for the month and down 121,199 compared to the year before. Initial claims were up 29% compared to the month before.
"This summer, we have seen unemployment rates drop while job numbers have climbed," said Commissioner Mark Butler in a press statement. "As employers have worked to fill positions with the most qualified people, job seekers have taken advantage of the wide range of employment opportunities with more benefits and flexibility than ever before.”
