Georgia’s unemployment rate of 4.7 percent in August, remained the same as in July. The State Department of Labor released the numbers Thursday. According to Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, that number isn’t the real story regarding jobs.
"The real news is the fact that we set a new record for total amount of jobs in Georgia, at 4.5 million. That's the first time we've ever hit that number," said Butler. "We also set new records for the number of employed and the number of people in our workforce."
And while the unemployed rate was much lower than the 5.3 percent for August of 2016, Butler says other numbers are even more important.
"A lot of people will focus on the unemployment rate. But really what you need to be focusing on is are you creating jobs? And not only are you creating jobs, but are people able to get those jobs? And also are we seeing people either encouraged to get back into the job market or are we seeing people move to Georgia to get the jobs we have? Right now we're seeing all those boxes being checked. We're seeing people move to Georgia," said Butler.
"We're also seeing people go back to work," he continued. "And obviously, we're seeing job creation. Right now, Georgia is hitting all the factors that need to be hit to show that we're doing very well with our economy."
Job seekers and employers are urged to use the department’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com for both finding and posting jobs.
