Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Northeast Georgia’s labor force increased in July. 

Additionally, Northeast Georgia saw a monthly increase in employment and a monthly decrease in initial claims for July.

“As the state continues to reopen, we are going to see wild fluctuations up and down of the unemployment rate across the state,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler.  “The numbers that we really need to focus on are the most important ones, such as increases in workforce and employment which we are continuing to see in almost all regions and counties.”

In Northeast Georgia, the unemployment rate increased in July to 6.7 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage point. A year ago, the rate was 3.6 percent.

The labor force increased in July by 4,320. The July total was 296,752. That number is down by 7,430 from the total from July 2019.

Northeast Georgia ended July with 277,009 employed residents.  The number increased by 3,906 in July but was down 16,273 as compared to last year.

Initial claims for unemployment decreased by 21 percent in July. When compared to last July, claims were up by about 2,230 percent. 

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 5,306 active job postings in Northeast Georgia for July. 

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