The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Middle Georgia region in August was 5.7 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from 5.9 percent in July. The rate in August was 6.5 percent.

The rate declined as employers laid off fewer workers. The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 178, or 12.5 percent, to 1,244 in August. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. Over the year, claims were up by 91, or 7.9 percent, from 1,153 in August 2015.

The labor force, which consists of employed people and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, declined by 1,569 to 215,324 in August. The number of employed residents decreased by 1,099 to 203,055, while the number of unemployed residents fell by 470 to 12,269.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.4 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 6.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for August was 4.9 percent, down from 5 percent in July. It was 5.6 percent in August 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 August, 2,339 new job openings in the Middle Georgia region were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 62,839 new job openings were posted.

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