Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Albany’s labor force and number of employed was up in January starting 2020 in a positive fashion. 

According to preliminary data, the five-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) also showed 1,000 more jobs when compared to January 2019.

“Over the year, we are still seeing lots of positive data and our unemployment rates are still some of the lowest ever on record,” Butler said.

In Albany, the unemployment rate increased 0.7 percentage points in January, reaching 4.3 percent. A year ago, the rate was 5.4 percent.

Albany ended January with 62,900 jobs. That number decreased by 800 from December to January.

The labor force increased in January by 764 and ended the month with 67,764. That number is up 858 when compared to January of 2019.

Albany finished the month with 64,884 employed residents.  That number increased by 302 over the month and is up by a significant 1,569 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims surprisingly went down by 13 percent in January when claims normally increase due to seasonal and temporary layoffs. When compared to last January, claims were up by about 4 percent.