ATLANTA – Unemployment in Georgia held steady last month for a third month in a row at a record low 2.8%, while the number of jobs hit an all-time high, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.
The state’s unemployment rate for September was well below the national rate of 3.5%
Job numbers increased over the month to more than 4.8 million and hit record highs in the trade and transportation and education and health services sectors with more than 1 million and 637,300 jobs, respectively.
“We are continuing to see strong job creation and demand for workers in Georgia, state Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said. “We are seeing some of the best economic opportunities for job seekers that we have seen in years.”
The number of unemployed Georgians fell by 1,481 last month to 148,173, the lowest since January 2001.
Initial jobless claims were down by 19% in September to 21,570.
There are more than 178,000 jobs listed online at EmployGeorgia.com, resulting in about 235,000 unfilled positions.
Industries with more than 10,000 postings included health care, retail trade, accommodation and food services, and manufacturing.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.