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

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

“This was a very positive year for the state,” Butler said. “We saw over-the-year growth in almost every MSA, and our key jobs sectors continue to grow as the economy expands.”

In Albany, the unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points in December, reaching 3.6 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.6 percent.

Albany ended December with 63,700 jobs. That number remained unchanged over the month and over the year.

The labor force increased in December by 133. Albany ended the month with 66,867. That number is down by 1,023 when compared to December of 2018.

Albany finished the month with 64,478 employed residents.  That number increased by five over the month but decreased by 299 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went up by 128 percent in November. When compared to last December, claims were up by about 17 percent.