Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Wednesday that the Southwest Georgia region added to its labor force in May.

The 16-county area also posted annual gains in employed residents and saw its initial claims decline as well, preliminary numbers show.

“In May, we saw much needed growth in our labor force in many local areas,” Butler said. “We also saw more Georgians become employed. Overall, we head into the summer with a good jobs report.”

The unemployment rate increased in May. The rate went up 0.4 percentage points in May, settling at 3.9 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.2 percent.

The labor force increased in May by 334. The May total was 147,101. That number is down by 1,668 from the total from May 2018.

Southwest Georgia ended May with 141,303 employed residents.  The number decreased by 260 in May and went down by 1,245 as compared to last May.

The number of unemployment claims decreased in May by about 4 percent. When compared to last May, claims were down by about 25 percent.