Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Middle Georgia region saw its unemployment rate fall sharply in April.

The 11-county area also posted monthly losses in labor force and employed residents, while the unemployment rate showed a substantial decrease, preliminary numbers show.

“We saw every region lower its rate and, in most of these cases, break its previous record,” Butler said. “If we can continue to grow our labor force, the future looks strong.”

The unemployment rate fell in April. The rate dropped 0.6 percentage points in April, settling at 3.4 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4 percent.

The labor force decreased in April by 1,801. The April total was 218,071. That number is down by 2,524 from the total from April 2018.

Middle Georgia ended April with 210,698 employed residents.  The number decreased by 426 in April and went down 1,070 as compared to last April.

The number of unemployment claims decreased in April by about 3 percent. When compared to last April, claims were down by 49 percent.