Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Macon added to its labor force in February. 

According to preliminary data, the five-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) also showed a jump in employment for the month and year.

In Macon, the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points in February, reaching at 3.8 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.1 percent

The labor force increased in February by 780 and ended the month with 104,310. That number is up 263 when compared to February of 2019.

Macon ended February with 103,000 jobs. That number increased by 200 from January to February, and decreased by 500 over the year.

Macon finished the month with 100,317 employed residents.  That number increased by 590 over the month and is up by 521 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went down by about 39 percent in February. When compared to last February, claims were up by about 22 percent.