Columbus jobless rate 5.1 percent; labor chief calls it ‘very good year’

The Columbus metro area unemployment was unchanged at 5.1 percent from November to December, the Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday.

Columbus lost 200 jobs in December, however, the city still managed to add 500 jobs over the past 12 months, with Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler calling its a “very good year” for the area.

“All of the major indicators trended in the right direction,” he said. “I’m expecting the same will continue in 2018.”

The Columbus metro area includes the Georgia counties of Muscogee, Harris, Chattahoochee and Marion, as well as Russell County in Alabama.

The department said that by the end of December, the Columbus metro area had 118,842 residents employed and working a job, which is up nearly 1,900 over the past year. The labor force is currently at 125,214, which is the combination of both those with jobs, along with those unemployed, but activiely seeking work.

Georgia’s overall unemployment rate in December, which the department reported last week, was 4.4 percent. That was up from 4.3 percent in November.

Here are the December 2017 unemployment rates for all of Georgia’s metro areas:

▪ Gainesville — 3.5 percent

▪ Athens — 4 percent

▪ Savannah — 4 percent

▪ Atlanta — 4.1 percent

▪ Valdosta — 4.2 percent

▪ Brunswick — 4.4 percent

▪ Warner Robins — 4.5 percent

▪ Augusta — 4.6 percent

▪ Rome — 4.6 percent

▪ Hinesville — 4.8 percent

▪ Macon — 4.8 percent

▪ Albany — 5.1 percent

▪ Columbus — 5.1 percent

▪ Dalton — 5.5 percent

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Columbus jobless rate 5.1 percent; labor chief calls it ‘very good year’."