State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said hat 2017 was a banner year for job creation and employment in the Southwest Georgia area.

The 14-county Southwest Georgia region ended the calendar year with 1,830 more employed residents, 464 more people in the workforce, and an unemployment rate down .9 percent.  

“This is a very good year for the Southwest Georgia area,” Butler said. “The critical indicators trended in the right direction. I’m expecting the same will continue in 2018.”

The region also gained 424 employed residents last month. The Southwest Georgia area ended 2017 with 143,373 employed residents.

The Southwest Georgia labor force, the number of residents with jobs and those unemployed but actively looking for work, grew by 403 in December. The area posted a labor force total of 150,938 at year’s end.

In December, 836 initial claims for unemployment insurance were filed, down by 19 percent from the previous month. In comparison to last December, initial claims are down by 23 percent.  

Meanwhile, the area’s unemployment rate fell from 5.9 percent to 5 over the 12-month cycle. The December rate, at 5 percent, was unchanged from the previous month.