The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Augusta’s unemployment rate in August was 5.8 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from 6.1 percent in July. The rate in August 2015 was 6.5 percent.

The rate fell as employers added more jobs and laid off fewer workers. 

The number of jobs increased by 1,200, or 0.5 percent, to 230,800. Most of the job gains came in professional and business services, along with state and local government as the public schools reopened for the year.

Over the year, Augusta gained 3,100 jobs, a 1.4 percent growth rate, up from 227,700 in August 2015. Most of the job gains came in professional and business services, education and health services, trade, transportation and warehousing, and state and local government.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 332, or 18.5 percent, to 1,464 in August. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing and administrative and support services. Over the year, claims were up by 314, or 27.3 percent, from 1,150 in August 2015.

The labor force, which consists of employed people and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, declined by 2,234 to 260,335 in August. The number of employed residents decreased by 1,505 to 245,174, while the number of unemployed residents fell by 729 to 15,161.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.4 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 6.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for August was 4.9 percent, down from 5 percent in July. It was 5.6 percent in August 2015.