Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Athens added to its labor force in February.

According to preliminary data, the four-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) also showed a jump in employment for the month and the year.

In Athens, the unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points in February, reaching at 3.3 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.7 percent.

The labor force increased in February by 967 and ended the month with 100,244. That number is up 510 when compared to February of 2019.

Athens ended February with 96,600 jobs. That number increased by 700 from January to February, but went down by 300 when compared to the same time last year.

Athens finished the month with 96,973 employed residents.  That number increased by 889 over the month and is up by a significant 883 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went down by about 25 percent in February. When compared to last February, claims were up by about 41 percent.