Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Albany posted a strong February as all of its critical job measures trended in the right direction.  

Butler noted jobs, employed residents, and labor force all increased. At the same time, the unemployment rate fell and unemployment claims dropped.

“It’s good to see we picked up this year right where we left off from 2017,” Butler said. “I expect Georgia will have a very good 2018. And, it’s great to see so many of our local communities have gotten off to a good start.”

In February, the number of employed residents in the Albany area, at 65,954, was up by   309 over the month and 1,472 for the year.

Jobs climbed by 300 to 63,200 in February. The number increased over the past 12 months by 200.

The Albany labor force ended February at 69,522. That number is up 295 over the month and up 859 over the past 12 months.

At the same time, the jobless rate fell from 5.2 percent to 5.1 percent in February. A year ago, the jobless rate was 6.1 percent. Georgia’s 14 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) had unemployment rates that varied from a low of 3.6 percent in Gainesville to Dalton’s 5.5 percent. 

Initial claims for unemployment were down about 60 percent for the month and about 50 percent for the year.

The five-county MSA includes Baker, Dougherty, Lee, Terrell and Worth counties.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 631 new active job postings in metro Albany for February.

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