Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Central Savannah River region’s unemployment rate fell in October to an all-time record low.
 
At the same time, the 13-county region posted monthly gains in employed residents and labor force. Unemployment claims climbed slightly in October, preliminary numbers showed.
 
“October was a great month for Georgia and our local communities,” Butler said. “We continued to create jobs and people gained employment – often at record numbers.”
 
Nationally, the unemployment rate climbed in October to 3.6 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points. The nation also grew to its labor force by 325,000, increased employment by 241,000 and added more 125,000 jobs.
 
Georgia’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell in October by 0.1 percentage points to 3.4 percent. That tied Georgia’s all-time low set in December of 2000.  
 
Rates fell or held steady across nine of Georgia’s 12 planning regions. Seven set or tied a record for lowest rate ever.
 
In the CSR region, the unemployment rate fell in October to an all-time low 3.5 percent, a drop of 0.1 percentage points. That rate ranked 10th lowest among the 12 regions. A year ago, the rate was 4.3 percent.   
 
The labor force increased in October by 1,042. The October total was 210,116. That number is down by 411 from the total from October 2018.
 
Central Savannah River ended October with 202,664 employed residents.  The number increased by 1,191 in October and was up 1,162 as compared to last October.
 
The number of unemployment claims increased in October by about 13 percent. When compared to last October, claims were down by about 4 percent.