Georgia reports gains in employment, workforce for June

Georgia continues to set records in job listings and employment, with more than 20,000 jobs added in the month of June.

That’s according to State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. He says the preliminary numbers showed year-over-year gains in employment and workforce.

At the same time, claims for unemployment insurance were near record lows.

Nationally, the unemployment rate inched up 0.1 percentage points in June, reaching 3.7 percent total.

Georgia’s rate; however, dropped 0.1 percentage points, settling at 3.7 percent in June.

Meanwhile, Georgia added 20,200 jobs in June, pushing the total to 4.61 million jobs – a new record for the state.

That number is more than 80,000 from the same time last year.

Butler noted the number of employed residents went up for the first time in four months, with a gain of 2,175 in June.

Georgia’s labor force slipped again in June, dropping by less than 1,500 versus a total work force of more than 5.1 million.

And, even with the monthly loss, the labor force total was still higher than the same month a year ago.

Also, in June, fewer residents were filing new claims for unemployment.

The total number of claims filed in June, at 18,410, was the second lowest filed in the past 45 years.

Butler said new claims for unemployment were down by about 11 percent compared to May; he also noted that when compared to last year, claims were down by 16 percent.

For additional information regarding GDOL services visit dol.georgia.gov.