Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Albany added to its labor force in May.

According to preliminary data Albany also saw its number of employed residents increase across the five-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA).

“May was a good month for Georgia,” Butler said. “Many of our local communities added more individuals to their workforce – which is what we needed to see happen. And, several added jobs and even and set records. That’s a great combination.”

The unemployment rate rose 0.5 percentage points in May, reaching 4.2 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.4 percent. 

Albany ended May with 63,100 jobs. That number fell by 100 over the month and increased by 500 jobs when compared to the same time a year ago. 

The labor force increased in May by 346. Albany ended the month with 66,627. That number shrunk by 506 when compared to May of 2018.

Albany finished the month with 63,820 employed residents.  That number increased by nine over the month and decreased by 382 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went up by about 22 percent in May. When compared to last May, claims were down by about 12 percent.

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 about 873 active job postings in metro Albany for May.