Southern Georgia Regional Commission sees drop in unemployment rate

Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson said Thursday that all Regional Commissions reported a drop in unemployment rates in April.

"With Georgia's economy continuing to soar, the state unemployment rates remain steady," said Commissioner Bruce Thompson. "When you consider the number of existing companies expanding throughout the state combined with the incredible announcements of corporations moving to our state, the future continues to look very bright for the labor market. "As we approach the summer months, we are optimistic that job growth will remain steady in virtually every sector in the state." 

The labor force was down in all Regional Commissions except the Central Savannah River Regional Commission and the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission.

Employment was up in all Regional Commissions except for the Atlanta Regional Commission, Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, Northeast Georgia Regional Commission, Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, and the Three Rivers Regional Commission.

In April, initial unemployment claims increased in all Regional Commissions except for the River Valley Regional Commissioner, which experienced a drop.

Please see a synopsis of each regional commission below:

o-t-m – over the month

o-t-y – over the year

Here is the latest report from the Southern Georgia Regional Commission - Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Turner, and Ware counties.

• The unemployment rate was down eight-tenths to 2.8 percent o-t-m, the rate was 2.6 percent one year ago.
• The labor force was down 738 o-t-m and down 586 o-t-y, to 180,177.
• The number of employed was up 603 o-t-m and down 953 o-t-y, to 175,075.
• Initial claims were up 65 (10%) o-t-m and up 140 (25%) o-t-y, to 697.