Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Southern Georgia saw an over-the-month and over-the-year decrease in its initial claims in May.

"This is a step in the right direction, but we need to continue to get Georgians back to work,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. “Increasing the amount of people in our labor force is critical for us to continue to improve.”

In Southern Georgia, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points, reaching 3.7 percent. A year ago, the rate was 6.7 percent.

The labor force decreased in May by 983. The May total was 181,508. That number is up by 4,440 from the total from May 2020.

Southern Georgia ended May with 174,736 employed residents.  The number decreased by 733 in May and was up 9,614 as compared to last year.

Initial claims for unemployment decreased by 26 percent in May. When compared to last May, claims were down by about 84 percent.

The GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,597 active job postings in Southern Georgia for May.

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