Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Dalton’s unemployment rate decreased in August.
Additionally, Dalton saw a monthly increase in jobs and a monthly decrease in initial claims in August.
“It is very promising that we continue to see the unemployment rate drop month after month, while the job market gets stronger, evoking positive news for Georgia’s economy,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. “The state as a whole is leading the nation in competitive unemployment rates, coming in at 7th lowest.”
In Dalton, the unemployment rate decreased 2.8 percentage points in August, reaching 5.2 percent.
A year ago, the rate was 4.4 percent.
The labor force decreased in August by 1,739 and ended the month with 54,863. That number is down 3,741 when compared to August of 2019.
Dalton finished the month with 51,988 employed residents. That number decreased by 95 over the month and is down by 4,024 when compared to the same time a year ago.
Dalton ended August with 63,100. jobs. That number increased by 800 from July to August but was down by 3,300 when compared to this time last year.
The number of unemployment claims went down by 51 percent in August. When compared to last August, claims were up by about 495 percent.
Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 1,082 active job postings in metro Dalton for August.