Georgia Mountains Region sets another employment record in October

More people are going back to work in the Georgia Mountains region and more companies are hiring.

State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the Georgia Mountains region, which includes Stephens, Franklin and Hart counties, set more records in October in labor force numbers and employment.

However, the area, he said also saw a slight rise in the unemployment rate.

In the region, the October unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points, coming in at 2.6 percent.

Butler said the rate was the lowest recorded among Georgia’s 12 regions.

But the good news he said were the numbers for the Georgia Mountains labor force and employment.

“Even though we did see first time claims for unemployment benefits increase by 30% for the month, we actually saw the other numbers set records, ” he said. “First, we saw the total number of individuals in the workforce increase by over 1,300 individuals, which set the labor force at its largest number on record for the Georgia Mountains Region, and we saw over 900 individuals actually gain employment, pushing our total employment in the Georgia Mountains Region to another all-time high.”

Georgia’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell in October by 0.1 percentage points to 3.4 percent.

That tied Georgia’s all-time low set in December of 2000.

Last month, Butler noted the numbers for labor force, unemployment and employment demonstrate the economy in Georgia is healthy.

The Georgia Mountains region added 943 employed residents in October, bringing its total to 343,612. That number has grown by 4,806 over the past year.

Nationally, the unemployment rate climbed in October to 3.6 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points.

The nation also grew its labor force by 325,000, increased employment by 241,000 and added more 125,000 jobs.