Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Southwest Georgia region saw its unemployment rate fall in March.

The 16-county area also posted monthly losses in labor force and increases in unemployment claims, preliminary numbers show.

“We are moving into the Spring with a strong jobs report,” Butler said. “The national economy is booming. Georgia is also producing strong numbers consistently across the state.” 

The unemployment rate fell in March. The rate dropped 0.3 percentage points in March, settling at 4.1 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.6 percent.

The labor force decreased in March by 35. The March total was 149,059. That number is down by 259 from the total from March 2018.

Southwest Georgia ended March with 142,927 employed residents.  The number increased by 388 in March and 421 as compared to last March.

The number of unemployment claims increased in March by 6 percent. When compared to last March, claims were down by 27 percent.