The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Albany’s unemployment rate in August was 6.2 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 6.3 percent in July. The rate in August 2015 was 7.1 percent.

The rate fell as employers added more jobs and laid off fewer workers. 

The number of jobs increased by 100, or 0.2 percent, to 61,900. Most of the job gains came in retail trade and local government as the public schools reopened for the new school year.

Over the year, Albany gained 1,100 jobs, a 1.8 percent growth rate, up from 60,800 in August 2015. Most of the job gains came in the service industries, including retail trade and local government, along with the goods-producing sector, which includes construction.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 132, or 22.6 percent, to 453 in August. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. Over the year, claims were down by 71, or 13.5 percent, from 524 in August 2015.

The labor force, which consists of employed people and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, declined by 488 to 66,197 in August. The number of employed residents decreased by 378 to 62,102, while the number of unemployed residents fell by 110 to 4,095.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.4 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 6.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for August was 4.9 percent, down from 5 percent in July. It was 5.6 percent in August 2015.