Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Augusta posted a strong February as all of its critical job measures trended in the right direction.  

Butler noted jobs, employed residents, and labor force all increased. At the same time, the unemployment rate fell and unemployment claims dropped.

“It’s good to see we picked up this year right where we left off from 2017,” Butler said. “I expect Georgia will have a very good 2018. And, it’s great to see so many of our local communities have gotten off to a good start.”

In February, the number of employed residents in the Augusta area, at 261,901, was up by 2,241 over the month and 10,938 for the year. The February number is an all-time high for Augusta.

Jobs climbed by 1,000 to 241,000 in February. The change over the past 12 months was 7,300.

The Augusta labor force ended February at 274,928 – another record high. That number is up 1,255 over the month and 9,781 over the past 12 months.

At the same time, the jobless rate fell from 5.1 percent to 4.7 percent over the pasts month. A year ago, the jobless rate was 5.3 percent. Georgia’s 14 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) had unemployment rates that varied from a low of 3.6 percent in Gainesville to Dalton’s 5.5 percent. 

Initial claims for unemployment were down 56 percent for the month and about 30 percent for the year.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,735 new active job postings in metro Augusta for February. 

The seven-county MSA includes the counties of Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond and Aiken and Edgefield in South Carolina. 

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