Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Augusta saw a decrease in the unemployment rate over the month as the number of claims dropped 30 percent in August.  

"Although we are seeing fewer unemployed individuals now than before the pandemic started, we are also still seeing a decreased total number of people in the workforce when compared to numbers recorded prior to the pandemic,” said Commissioner Mark Butler. “This will continue to cause a hiring crunch until we can attract more people back to the workforce to fill the record number of job openings.”

In Augusta, the unemployment rate was down one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.5 percent from July 2021. A year ago, the rate was 5.7 percent.

The labor force decreased in Augusta by 2,772 and ended the month at 268,504. That number is up 6,751 when compared to August of 2020.

Augusta finished the month with 259,068 employed residents.  That number decreased by 2,551 over the month and is up by 12,215 when compared to the same time a year ago.

Augusta ended August with 237,500 jobs. That number decreased by 200 from July to August and increased by 5,300 when compared to this time last year.

The number of unemployment claims went down by 30 percent in Augusta in August. When compared to last August, claims were down by about 78 percent.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 5,827 active job postings in Augusta for August.

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TABLES AND GRAPHS REFLECTING LABOR MARKET DATA ARE AVAILABLE AT  https://dol.georgia.gov/current-labor-force-data-and-graphs

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