Despite an increase in jobless claims because of Hurricane Irma last month, unemployment in Georgia still fell in September to the lowest rate in more than a decade.
The Georgia Department of Labor said today that the jobless rate declined during September by two tenths of percentage point to 4.5 percent - the lowest rate since June 2007. Georgia's unemployment rate was still above the U.S. rate of 4.2 percent last month, but the jobless rate across the Peach State has still declined steadily from the 5.4 percent rate a year ago as Georgia employers have added 84,000 jobs in the past year.
State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Hurricane Irma caused Georgia's job numbers to fall and unemployment claims to rise in September, however.
Butler said nearly 25,000 unemployment claims were filed in September.
"Even though the hurricane did have a negative effect on Georgia's job and unemployment claims numbers, we still had a record month for employment and persons entering the workforce," Butler said. "This shows the strength of Georgia's economy and job market."
Butler said employment among the state's residents was up by 35,649 from August. That's the largest single-month gain in at least 40 years.
The labor force, which is the number of residents employed and those unemployed but actively looking for work, rose by 25,761, as the number of unemployed declined by 9,888.
"It continues to be a very good year for Georgia's economy when you look at the whole picture," Butler said.