Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Dalton posted a mixed month in April even as the state saw generally down numbers for several cities.
In Dalton, the April unemployment rate fell sharply and jobs continued to climb. Those positive trends were somewhat offset by drops in labor force and employed residents. Unemployment claims also declined.
“Even though we did see some fluctuations in the employment and workforce numbers across the state, job growth continues to be very strong,” Comm.
Butler said.
Dalton added 200 jobs in April, pushing its total to 67,700. That was an increase of 400 over last April. Just three metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) grew by 1,000 jobs or more in April.
The unemployment rate dropped by 1 percent to 4.3 percent. It was 5.2 percent last April. Dalton ranked tied for 12th among Georgia’s 14 MSAs.
Dalton did not escape April without posting any negative numbers.
The number of employed dropped by 187 in April. That change ranked fourth among 14 MSAs. At 59,029 total employed residents, Dalton was up by 1,274 for the year.
The labor force in Dalton fell by 807 to 61,703 in April. It was up by 772 over the same period a year ago. Only one MSA, Brunswick, added to its work force during the month.
Initial claims for unemployment also fell by 40 percent for the month and by 39 percent from last year. Six of the 14 MSAs saw claims rise in April.
Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 419 new active job postings in metro Dalton for April.
The MSA includes Murray and Whitfield counties.