Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Macon gained employed residents and drove down its unemployment rate in September. 

At the same time, the five-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) saw its unemployment claims shrink.  

All indicators still remain positive for the year with the exception of labor force.

“It’s exciting to see so many of our communities across the state doing so well,” Butler said. “We continue to add jobs and see the unemployment rate fall. Even better, people are getting hired - often at record levels.” 

The September unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent. That’s down 0.6 percent from the previous month and down from 5 percent one year ago.

The labor force decreased in September by 485 to reach 105,140 total members.  The number has declined by 886 over the past 12 months. 

Macon gained 119 employed residents in September, bringing its total to about 101,500. That number has grown by about 700 over the past year.

Macon saw jobs decrease by 200 in September to reach 103,600. This puts Macon up 1,200 jobs for the year.

Initial claims for unemployment are down by about 7 percent for the month and are down by about 27 percent when compared to the same period a year ago.   

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 1,239 active job postings in metro Macon for September. 

The five-county MSA includes Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Monroe and Twiggs counties.