Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Augusta’s 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 Augusta, the unemployment rate decreased 1.5 percentage points in June, reaching 7.2 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4 percent.

Augusta ended June with 229,400 jobs. That number increased by 3,600 from May to June but was down by 13,200 when compared to this time last year.

The labor force increased in June by 323 and ended the month with 259,836. That number is down 8,368 when compared to June of 2019

Augusta finished the month with 241,241 employed residents.  That number increased by 4,389 over the month but is down by 16,278 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went down by 13 percent in June. When compared to last June, claims were up by about 1,710 percent.