Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that in August Athens set a record for total jobs.

At the same time, the four-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) saw its unemployment rate fall and the number of claims shrink.   

All indicators still remain positive for the year. 

"Our communities across the state continue to thrive,” Butler said. “Local economies continue to add jobs and see other indicators like employment and labor force grow over time.  It has become almost routine for some of our local areas set records.”

The August unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent – second among all 14 MSAs in Georgia. That’s down 0.2 percent from the previous month and down from 4.7 percent one year ago.

The labor force decreased in August by 1,346 to reach 103,008 total members.  The number has climbed by nearly 2,300 over the past 12 months.  

Athens lost 1,023 employed residents in August, dropping its total to 99,427. That number has grown by about 3,400 over the past year.   

Athens  saw jobs increase by 600 to 99,600 a new record. This puts Athens  up 2,800 jobs for the year. 

Initial claims for unemployment down by about 31 percent for the month and are down by about 21 percent for the year.  

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 1,515 active job postings in metro Athens  for August.

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