Georgia Mountains region post record number of employed for the month of April

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Georgia Mountains region posted a record number of employed and lower unemployment for the month of April.

Though Butler also noted a drop in the labor force and an increase in initial unemployment claims, all indicators remained positive for the year. 

In April, the number of employed residents in the Georgia Mountains region climbed to 337,410 – an all-time high.

Georgia Mountains added 605 employed residents for the month and 11,153 over the past year. Only five of Georgia’s 12 regional commissions saw an increase in employed residents. 

The Georgia Mountains labor force ended April at 348,095. That number is down 836 over the last month but up 8,524 over the last year.

The jobless rate fell to 3.1 percent, a drop of .4 percent over the past month. A year ago, the jobless rate was 3.9 percent. The Georgia Mountains has the lowest unemployment rate of all 12 Georgia regions. The River Valley region has the highest at 4.7 percent.

In the Georgia Mountains region, initial claims for unemployment were up about 4 percent for the month but down about 40 percent for the year.

The Georgia Mountains region includes Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White counties.

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