Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Gainesville set records in July for both labor force and employed residents.
 
Gainesville, preliminary numbers showed, posted monthly gains in labor force and employed residents. Meanwhile, the number of monthly unemployment claims fell for the one-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA).   
 
“July was another solid month for Georgia,” Butler said. “The state numbers were strong and many of our local communities added to their labor force, which was badly needed. Many areas of the state also increased the number of employed residents. Georgia continues to head in the right direction.”
 
Nationally, the unemployment rate was unchanged in July at 3.7 percent. Georgia’s rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to settle at 3.6 percent.  A year ago, Georgia’s unemployment rate sat at 3.8 percent.
 
Rates fell across 12 of Georgia’s 14 MSAs.
 
Gainesville’s unemployment rate fell in July, decreasing by 0.2 percentage points to settle at 2.9 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.4 percent.
 
Gainesville ended July with 96,300 jobs. The MSA lost 100 new jobs over the month but was up 4,200 jobs when compared to this time last year.
 
The labor force increased in July by 301 to reach 104,478. That number is up by 1,880 from the total of July 2018.
 
Gainesville ended July with 101,399 employed residents.  The number climbed by 476 in July and was up by 2,275 over July 2018’s total.
 
The number of unemployment claims fell in July by 19 percent and were down by 41 percent from the same period last year.