Columbus unemployment rate climbs in December, but it isn’t the highest in Georgia

The Columbus metro area unemployment rate ticked higher in December, the Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The rate rose from 3.9 percent in November to 4.4 percent in December, a level the area saw last spring in April and May. The rate’s high-water mark for 2018 was 5.7 percent last January.

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, in a statement, called 2018 a “very good year economically speaking,” pointing out that Georgia as a whole grew its workforce and job total, which led to more employment overall for the state’s citizens.

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

The metro area’s December jobless rate remains one of the highest in Georgia, ahead of only Dalton’s 5 percent and Albany’s 4.6 percent. Rome also has a 4.4 percent rate. The lowest figure in the state is 2.9 percent in Gainesville.

Data released Thursday show the Columbus-area labor force rose by 603 in December for a total of 126,847, which is nearly 1,400 higher than when 2018 started, the department said. The area added 300 jobs from November to December for a total of 125,400, which is up more than 2,600 over the past year.

Thursday’s report comes with the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia projecting the Columbus area will add about 1,000 jobs overall in 2019. That would follow 1,200 jobs created last year and about 700 in 2017.

The labor department last week reported that Georgia’s unemployment rate in December came in at 3.6 percent, which was just off its all-time low of 3.4 percent. The state ended 2018 with a record total of 4.6 million jobs.

How all Georgia metro areas fared

Here are the December 2018 unemployment rates for Georgia’s metro areas:

▪ Gainesville — 2.9 percent

▪ Athens — 3.4 percent

▪ Atlanta — 3.6 percent

▪ Savannah — 3.6 percent

▪ Valdosta — 3.7 percent

▪ Brunswick — 3.8 percent

▪ Warner Robins — 3.9 percent

▪ Hinesville — 4 percent

▪ Macon — 4.1 percent

▪ Columbus — 4.4 percent

▪ Rome — 4.4 percent

▪ Albany — 4.6 percent

▪ Dalton — 5 percent