The most recent unemployment figures are out and the numbers show jobs were up and unemployment was down in Athens for the month of August. According to the Georgia Department of Labor, at 4.7 percent, the August rate was down three tenths a point from July.
Commissioner Mark Butler says other numbers show August was a good month for Athens.
"We did see the Athens area actually gain about 100 jobs from the month of August," said Butler. "And over the year we're showing about 1600 more jobs today than we had this same time last year. Which is just under a 2% job growth over the last 12 months."
Butler says the number of unemployment claims in Athens dropped by more than 20%.
The unemployment rate for the Northeast Georgia area was 4.6 percent. The department’s online job listing service employgeorgia.com showed more than 2,950 new job posting in the area for August.
