Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Northwest Georgia’s unemployment rate decreased in May.
Due to the effects of COVID-19, all regions and counties continue to see stinted yearly growth, yet monthly gains in nearly all major sectors are beginning to spike.
“The fact that almost every single monthly indicator in May’s job market report was positive shows great promise to Georgia’s economy up ahead,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler.
“Seeing these monthly numbers begin to increase means that we are definitely heading back in the right direction.”
Dalton ended May with 62,800 jobs. That number increased by 3,900 from April to May but was down by 3,700 when compared to this time last year.
The labor force decreased in May by 1,490 and ended the month with 58,440. That number is down 54 when compared to May of 2019.
Dalton finished the month with 51,924 employed residents. That number increased by 3,873 over the month but is down by 4,338 when compared to the same time a year ago.
The number of unemployment claims went down by 46 percent in May to 15,017. When compared to last May, claims were up by about 2,450 percent.
In Northwest Georgia, the unemployment rate decreased in May to 8.7 percent, a decrease of 4.2 percentage points. A year ago, the rate was 3.2 percent.
The labor force decreased in May by 2,768. The May total was 407,856. That number is down by 9,638 from the total from May 2018.
Northwest Georgia ended May with 372,558 employed residents. The number increased by 15,107 in May and was down 31,649 as compared to last year.
Initial claims for unemployment decreased by 44 percent in May. When compared to last May, claims were up by about 3,276 percent.
Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,720 active job postings in Northwest Georgia for May.