Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Gainesville recorded an unemployment rate of 2.1 percent in May, up four-tenths of a percent over the month. A year ago, the rate was 2.7 percent.

“Even though the labor force increased in all of our regions, counties, and metropolitan service areas, job postings continue to outpace those gains placing strain on employers to find talent for open positions,” said Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “Many areas across our state are experiencing difficulty in filling many of the seasonal, temporary jobs normally filled with summer workers, due to the opportunities in full-time employment.”

The labor force increased in Gainesville by 376 and ended the month with 106,413. That number is up 2,059 when compared to May of 2021.

Gainesville finished the month with 104,184 employed residents. That number decreased by 4 over the month and is up by 2,690 when compared to the same time a year ago.

Gainesville ended May with 97,900 jobs. Over the month job numbers were up 400 and over the year job numbers were up 3,100.

The number of unemployment claims decreased by 10 percent in Gainesville in May. When compared to last May, claims were down by about 89 percent.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 2,281 active job postings in Gainesville for May.