Georgia jobless rate dips; Columbus adds 100 jobs year over year

Job creation across Georgia helped nudge the state’s unemployment rate lower, from 5.5 percent in January to 5.3 percent in February, the Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The current rate of 5.3 percent is the same as it was in February of last year.

“Our unemployment rate fell as Georgia set new record highs for the number of people employed and for the size of our labor force, which crossed the 5 million mark for the first time,” said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “Our employers continued to create jobs at a strong pace and we saw a significant drop in the number of new layoffs.”

However, metro area data released Thursday showed Columbus adding a mere 100 jobs since February of last year, with the local job total now at 120,400. The Columbus jobless rate in January was 7 percent, with the department scheduled to report metro area figures for February next week.

Every metro area with the exceptions of Hinesville, Brunswick, Macon, Dalton and Columbus added at least 1,000 jobs or more over the past year. Other than the 95,400 generated by Atlanta, the next highest year-over-year increases were 5,700 jobs in Savannah and 4,700 in Augusta.

Statewide, the total number of workers actively employed in February rose by 21,181 to 4,743,443. The labor force was up by 12,480 to 5,010,813. The labor force is comprised both of those with jobs and those without them but actively seeking one.

Initial, or first-time, claims for unemployment assistance across Georgia dipped by 25,411 from January to February for a current total of 24,307. Year over year, statewide benefit claims are down from 29,339.

Among metro areas, there were 872 Columbus-area residents filing for assistance in February, up from 789 a year ago. Brunswick, Albany and Augusta were the only other metro areas to experience increases in filings year over year.

Here are the February 2017 job totals for Georgia’s metro areas:

▪ Atlanta — 2,710,900

▪ Augusta — 235,300

▪ Savannah — 178,900

▪ Columbus — 120,400

▪ Macon — 102,400

▪ Athens — 94,900

▪ Gainesville — 88,100

▪ Warner Robins — 73,400

▪ Dalton — 69,800

▪ Albany — 62,400

▪ Valdosta — 56,200

▪ Brunswick — 42,800

▪ Rome — 41,300

▪ Hinesville — 20,300

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Georgia jobless rate dips; Columbus adds 100 jobs year over year."