The Georgia Department of Labor announced that Metro Athens’ unemployment rate in April was 4.5 percent, unchanged from March. In April 2016, the rate was 4.7 percent.

While the rate was unchanged, more people became employed, the labor force grew and employers created more jobs and reduced the number of new layoffs.

There were 110 more Metro Athens residents employed in April than in March, pushing the total number to 94,260. There were 2,061 more people employed in April than in April 2016.

The labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed and actively looking for jobs, grew by 50 to 98,668. That total represents an increase of 1,964 over the past 12 months.

The number of jobs in Athens increased by 600, or 0.6 percent, to 95,900. The job growth came in leisure and hospitality, retail trade and professional and business services, along with state government.

Over-the-year, a total of 1,500 jobs were added, a 1.6 percent growth rate, up from 94,400, in April 2016. The job growth came in state government, retail trade, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services, along with the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, declined by 88, or 26.1 percent, to 249. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing and retail trade. Over the year, claims were down by 62, or 19.9 percent, from 311 in April 2016.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 3.9 percent, while the Heart of Georgia and River Valley regions had the highest at 5.9 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for April was 5 percent, down from 5.1 percent in March. It was 5.4 percent in April 2016.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use GDOL’s online job listing service employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employees. In April, 1,330 new job openings in Athens were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 75,183 new job openings were posted.