Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Macon added jobs and drove down its unemployment rate in August. 

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

All indicators still remain positive for the year.

"Our communities across the state continue to thrive,” Butler said. “Local economies continue to add jobs and see other indicators like employment and labor force grow over time.  It has become almost routine for some of our local areas set records.”

The August unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent – tied for eighth among all 14 MSAs in Georgia. That’s down 0.2 percent from the previous month and down from 5.4 percent one year ago.

The labor force decreased in August by 1,350 to reach 105,597 total members.  The number has climbed by just 4 over the past 12 months. 

Macon lost 1,063 employed residents in August, dropping its total to more than 101,293. That number has grown by about 1,400 over the past year.

Macon saw jobs increase by 600 in August to reach 103,700. This puts Macon up 500 jobs for the year. 

Initial claims for unemployment are down by about 14 percent for the month and are down by about 28 percent when compared to the same period a year ago.   

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 1,684 active job postings in metro Macon  for August.

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