Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Dalton posted mostly positive jobs numbers for the month of May.
Dalton saw a drop in the unemployment rate and increases in the labor force, number of employed residents, and jobs.
There was also in May an increase in initial claims for unemployment for the two-county metropolitan statistical area.
“Georgia’s employment numbers remain strong,” Mr. Butler said. “Across the state, the unemployment rate either remained steady or dropped.”
The number of employed increased by 217 residents. At 59,278 total employed residents, Dalton is up by 1,540 for the year.
Dalton gained 300 jobs for the month, with total jobs settling at 68,000. This puts Dalton up 700 jobs for the year.
The labor force also saw increases in May, up 61 for the month to 61,799 and remaining up 914 for the year.
The May unemployment rate was down 0.2 percent from the previous month, falling to 4.1 percent. The unemployment rate was 5.2 percent a year ago.
Initial claims for unemployment grew by about 3 percent for the month but are down by about 37 percent for the year.
Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 592 active job postings in metro Dalton for May.
The MSA includes Murray and Whitfield counties.