Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Macon added more jobs for the month of May.

According to preliminary data, Macon also saw unemployment claims fall across the five-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA).

“May was a good month for Georgia,” Butler said. “Many of our local communities added more individuals to their workforce – which is what we needed to see happen. And, several added jobs and even and set records. That’s a great combination.”

The unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage points in May, reaching 3.8 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4 percent.

Macon ended May with 104,100 jobs. That’s an increase of 300 jobs over the month and an increase of 800 jobs when compared to the same time a year ago.

The labor force increased in May by 813. The total was 103,866. That number has gone down by 944 from the total from May 2018.

Macon ended May with 99,910 employed residents.  That number grew by 384 over the month and decreased by 727 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went up by about 1 percent in May. When compared to last May, claims were down by about 22 percent.

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