Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Augusta’s June job numbers showed typical summer fluctuations.

During the month, the labor force grew faster than could be absorbed through hiring, causing the unemployment rate to rise. At the same time, the number of jobs and employed residents fell across the seven-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA).  

Still, all indicators remain positive for the year.  

“The Georgia job market is very strong,” said Butler. “An uptick in the unemployment rate is common this time of year due to an increase in high school and college graduates entering the workforce.”

The labor force grew by 1,840 to 272,737, a gain of 7,507 for the year.

As a result, the June unemployment rate increased to 4.3 percent, up .7 percent from the previous month but down from 5.2 percent one year ago.

Augusta lost 400 jobs for the month, its total settling at 241,900. This puts Augusta up 7,100 jobs for the year.

The number of employed also decreased in June, losing 285 employed residents. At 260,884 total employed residents, Augusta is up by 9,341 for the year. 

Initial claims for unemployment fell by about 14 percent for the month and are down by about 11 percent from last year. 

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

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,748 active job postings in metro Augusta for June.