Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Athens’ unemployment rate decreased in June.

Due to the effects of COVID-19, all MSAs continue to see stinted yearly growth, yet monthly gains in nearly all major sectors are beginning to spike.  

“June continued to show positive growth across all MSAs,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. “We saw almost all major indicators head in the right direction but continue to work to support Georgia businesses and get Georgians back to work.” 

In Athens, the unemployment rate decreased 1.4 percentage points in June, reaching 6.6 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.8 percent.

Athens ended June with 91,700 jobs. That number increased by 1,100 from May to June but was down by 3,800 when compared to this time last year.

The labor force decreased in June by 744 and ended the month with 94,246. That number is down 3,163 when compared to June of 2019. 

Athens finished the month with 87,986 employed residents.  That number increased by 605 over the month but is down by 5,728 when compared to the same time a year ago. 

The number of unemployment claims went down by 35 percent in June. When compared to last June, claims were up by about 3,283 percent. 

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 1,904 active job postings in metro Athens for June.