The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Augusta’s unemployment rate for October was 7.0 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from 7.3 percent in September. The rate in October of last year was 7.9 percent. 

The rate fell as Metro Augusta added 2,300 jobs in October. The total number of jobs increased to 224,700, up from 222,400, or 1.0 percent, from September. Much of the job gain came in trade, transportation and warehousing, which are the job sectors associated with holiday hiring, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, and professional and business services.  

There was also an over-the-year gain of 7,500 jobs, or 3.5 percent, from 217,200 in October 2013. The gains came in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, mining, logging and construction, and trade, transportation and warehousing. 

Also, there were 1,307 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in October, a decrease of 57, or 4.2 percent, from 1,364 in September. Most of the decrease in claims came in manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade. Over the year, claims were down by 296, or 18.5 percent, from 1,603 filed in October 2013.     

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.4 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 9.3 percent. 

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for October was 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in September. It was 7.8 percent in October 2013. Georgia added 33,800 new jobs in October and 96,000 since October 2013, pushing its job total to 4,166,400, the largest number since May of 2008.