The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Middle Georgia region in July was 5.9 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 6 percent in June. The rate in July 2015 was 7 percent.

The rate fell as the number of employed residents grew by 339 to 204,107. At the same time, the number of unemployed residents fell by 302 to 12,793. The labor force, which consists of employed people and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, increased by 37 to 216,900 in July.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 252, or 21.5 percent, to 1,422 in July. Most of the increase came in manufacturing. However, over the year, claims were down by 74, or 4.9 percent, from 1,496 in July 2015.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.6 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7 percent.  

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for July was 5 percent, down from 5.1 percent in June. It was 5.7 percent in July 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 employees. In July, 2,507 new job openings in the Middle Georgia region were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 69,064 new job openings were posted.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.georgia.gov