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

Butler noted jobs, employed residents, and labor force all increased. At the same time, unemployment claims dropped. The jobless rate inched up .1 percent.

“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.” 

The number of employed residents in the Athens area in February, at 99,899, was up by 1,800 over the month and 5,359 for the year. 

Jobs climbed by 1,700 to 98,500 in February. The increase over the past 12 months was 3,700.

The Athens labor force ended February at 104,216. That number is up 1,995 over the month and 4,874 over the past 12 months.

At the same time, the jobless rate climbed from 4 percent to 4.1 percent over the past month. A year ago, the jobless rate was 4.8 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 nearly 50 percent for the month and about 4 percent for the year.

The four-county MSA includes Clarke, Madison, Oconee and Oglethorpe counties. 

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 1,021 new active job postings in metro Athens for February.