State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said that 2017 was a banner year for job creation and employment in the Northeast Georgia area.

The 12-county Northeast Georgia region ended the calendar year with 11,986 more employed residents, 9,528 more people in the workforce, and an unemployment rate down 1 percent.  

“This is a very good year for the Northeast Georgia area,” Butler said. “All of the major indicators trended in the right direction. I’m expecting the same will continue in 2018.”

The region also lost 362 employed residents last month. Still, the Northeast Georgia area ended 2017 with 290,744 employed residents.

The Northeast Georgia labor force, the number of residents with jobs and those unemployed but actively looking for work, fell by 625 in December. The area posted a labor force total of 302,924 at year’s end.

In December, 1,186 initial claims for unemployment insurance were filed, up by 16 percent from the previous month. In comparison to last December, initial claims are down by 28 percent.

Meanwhile, the region’s unemployment rate fell from 5 percent to 4 over the 12-month cycle. The December rate, at 4 percent, was down .1 percent from the previous month.