Jobless rate drops to 6 percent in metro Columbus

The metro Columbus’ unemployment rate in November dropped three-tenths of a percent to 6 percent, down 6.3 percent in October, the Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday. The rate in November 2015 was also 6.3 percent.

The rate declined as employers created new jobs and more people went to work, the GDOL said.

The number of jobs increased by 900, or 0.7 percent, to 123,900. Most of the job gains came in the service industries, including trade, transportation and warehousing, leisure and hospitality and other services, along with state and local government.

Over the year, 1,300 jobs were added, a 1.1 percent growth rate, up from 122,600 in November 2015. Most of the job growth came in services and local government.

The number of employed residents increased by 375 to 118,980. The labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed, but actively looking for jobs, increased by 62 to 126,619. the number of unemployed residents declined by 313 to 7,639.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 61, or 9 percent, to 737 in November. Most of the increase came in manufacturing. Over the year, claims were down by 315, or 29.9 percent, from 1,052 in November 2015.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.1 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 6.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for November was 5.3 percent, up from 5.2 percent in October. It was 5.5 percent in November 2015.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use the GDOL’s online job listing service, www.employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employers. In November, 1,856 new job openings in Columbus were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 62,905 new job openings were posted.

This story was originally published December 22, 2016 at 6:22 AM with the headline "Jobless rate drops to 6 percent in metro Columbus."