Unemployment Rate Drops in October

Georgia’s unemployment rate declined between September and October to 5.7 percent, the Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday.

October’s unemployment rate is the lowest the state has experienced in seven and a half years, according to Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. The unemployment rate in October of 2014 was 6.8 percent.

Looking for a job? Visit Kennesaw Patch’s Jobs Board to find the latest openings.

Employers created 29,000 jobs between September and October, Butler said Thursday. During the last three September to October periods, employers only managed to create an average of 16,000 jobs. All told, around 97,000 new jobs have been created so far this year.

October’s job creators were in trade, transportation and warehousing, 6,800; professional and business services, 6,400; state and local government, 4,800; manufacturing, 3,100; leisure and hospitality, 2,800; financial activities, 2,700; education and health services, 1,100; information services, 800; construction, 600; and other services, such as repair, maintenance, personal and laundry services, 200.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, rose by 2,701 or 10 percent, to 29,629 in October. Most of the rise in October was due to an increase in temporary claims filed in manufacturing, especially in textiles and transportation equipment.

However, over the year, the number of claims was down by 3,270, or 9.9 percent, from 32,899 filed in October 2014. The decline came in a number of industries, including administrative and support services, wholesale and retail trade, accommodations and food services, health care and social assistance, professional, scientific and technical services, and real estate, rental and leasing.

Jobless rates for metro areas, cities and counties are due next week.

Butler urged job seekers to use the GDOL’s job listing service, www.employgeorgia.com, where 79,324 jobs were posted throughout the state in September.