Athens hits all-time high for jobs

The state Labor Department says the four-county Athens metro—Clarke, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Madison counties—ended October with a record high 101,600 jobs. Labor Commissioner Mark Butler (pictured above) says Athens unemployment rate held steady in October, checking in at 2.8 percent, the same as in September.

“In October we had eight local communities set a total of 13 new records,” Butler said. “We increased jobs, employment and added to our labor force in virtually all of our major markets.”

Nationally, the unemployment rate climbed in October to 3.6 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points. The nation also grew to its labor force by 325,000, increased employment by 241,000 and added more 125,000 jobs.

Georgia’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell in October by 0.1 percentage points to 3.4 percent. That tied Georgia’s all-time low set in December of 2000.

Rates fell or held steady across all 11 of Georgia’s 14 MSAs. Four set records for lowest rate ever.

In Athens, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in October at 2.8 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.6 percent.

Athens ended October with 101,600 jobs – a new record high. That number increased by 1,500 over the month and increased by 800 jobs when compared to the same time a year ago.

The labor force increased in October by 1,150. Athens ended the month with a labor force of 102,751. That number decreased by 590 when compared to October of 2018.

Athens ended October with 99,863 employed residents. That number increased by 1,143 over the month and grew by 226 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went down by about 31 percent in October. When compared to last October, claims were down by 15 percent.