Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Northeast Georgia’s unemployment rate decreased in January.

“In January we saw the rate drop across all regions and counties,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. “Starting the year off strong with such a positive indicator is promising, especially as we learn to adapt to this everchanging workforce due to COVID.” 

In Northeast Georgia, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points, bringing the rate to 4.2 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.3 percent.

The labor force decreased in January by 1,995. The January total was 308,319. That number is down by 7,558 from the total from January 2020.

Northeast Georgia ended January with 295,261 employed residents.  The number decreased by 73 in January but was down 10,179 as compared to last year.

Initial claims for unemployment increased by 8 percent in January. When compared to last January, claims were up by about 226 percent.

The GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 5,424 active job postings in Northeast Georgia for January.