Atlanta set a record for total jobs in October and the labor force continued to climb across the metro area, according to a new report from the Georgia Department of Labor.
The unemployment rate for October, at 3.4 percent, was up .3 percent over the previous month. A year ago, the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent.
“It’s always good to see jobs grow in Georgia and more records set,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a press release. “This holiday season we have much to be thankful for. The job market has been very robust this year.”
The labor force in Atlanta surged by 6,859 in October, to reach about 3.1 million. That is up by 40,152 over the last year – an average monthly increase of nearly 3,350, according to the DOL.
Atlanta lost 3,457 employed residents in October, trimming the total number of jobs to about 2.9 million. That number is up 62,119 per yet, or about 5,200 per month.
Jobs grew by 16,500 in October to 2.81 million – a record high. Atlanta’s job total is up 60,800 over the year – an average of about 5,000.
Unemployment insurance claims climbed by 16 percent in October. They were down by 13 percent when compared to the same month a year ago.
GDOL’s online job listing service showed 52,598 active job postings for metro Atlanta in October, across Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton counties.
