Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Middle Georgia region’s unemployment rate held in October at its previous record low.
 
The 11-county area also posted monthly increases in labor force and employed residents, preliminary numbers show.
 
“October was a great month for Georgia and our local communities,” Butler said. “We continued to create jobs and people gained employment – often at record numbers.”
 
Nationally, the unemployment rate climbed in October to 3.6 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points. The nation also grew to its labor force by 325,000, increased employment by 241,000 and added more 125,000 jobs.
 
Georgia’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell in October by 0.1 percentage points to 3.4 percent. That tied Georgia’s all-time low set in December of 2000.  
 
In the region, the unemployment rate held constant in October at 3.3 percent. That’s a record low. A year ago, the rate was 4.4 percent.
 
The labor force increased in October by 572. The October total was 219,607. That number is down by 135 from the total from October 2018.
 
Middle Georgia ended October with 212,365 employed residents.  The number increased by 469 in October and went up by 2,363 as compared to last October.
 
The number of unemployment claims increased in October by about 127 percent. When compared to last October, claims were up by about 4 percent.