Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Central Savannah River region gained employed residents and lowered its unemployment rate in September.

At the same time, the 13-county area saw its labor force and initial claims dip down.  All major indicators are remain positive for the year. 

"Our communities across the state continue to thrive,” Butler said. “Local economies continue to add jobs and see other indicators like employment and labor force grow over time.  It has become almost routine for some of our local areas to set records.”

The September unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, down by .8 from August. It was 5 percent one year ago. 

The labor force fell in September by 236 to reach 211,177 total members. The number has climbed by 959 over the past 12 months, or an average gain of about 80 per month. 

The Central Savannah River region gained 1,394 employed residents in September, pushing its total to 203,078. That number has grown by 3,430 over the past year, or an average monthly gain of about 286.   

Initial claims for unemployment fell by about 31 percent for the month. They are down by about 9 percent when compared to last September.  

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,280 active job postings in the Central Savannah River region for September. 

The Central Savannah area includes Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Taliaferro, Warren, Washington, and Wilkes counties.