Gainesville's labor force was larger and the unemployment rate was slightly higher in January, according to a report from the Georgia Department of Labor.
State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the jobless rate for the one-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) was 2.8 percent in January, up 0.6 percentage points from December. A year ago, the unemployment rate was 3.4 percent.
Butler said Gainesville’s labor force was up in January and the MSA also showed 1,200 more jobs when compared to January 2019.
"Over the year, we are still seeing positive data and our unemployment rates are still some of the lowest ever on record," Butler said.
Gainesville ended January with 93,400 jobs, which was a decrease of 1,300 from December to January, a traditional occurrence after the holiday season.
The labor force increased in January by 260 and ended the month with 103,186. That number is up 1,543 when compared to January of 2019.
Gainesville finished the month with 100,317 employed residents. That number decreased by 295 over the month but is up by 2,130 when compared to the same time a year ago.
The number of unemployment claims went up by about 109 percent in January. When compared to last January, claims were up by about 27 percent.
The one-county MSA includes Hall County.
Butler said Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 1,182 active job postings in metro Gainesville for January.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2020/3/885154/gainesville-metro-jobless-rate-inches-up-for-january