Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Columbus’ June job numbers showed typical summer fluctuations. 

During the month, the labor force grew faster than could be absorbed through hiring, causing the unemployment rate to rise. At the same time, the number of jobs and employed residents fell across the five-county metropolitan statistical area.  

Still, all indicators remain positive for the year.   

“The Georgia job market is very strong,” said Butler. “An uptick in the unemployment rate is common this time of year due to an increase in high school and college graduates entering the workforce.”

In June, the labor force grew by 1,010 to 127,302, a gain of 2,880 for the year.

As a result, the June unemployment rate increased to 5.1 percent, up .7 percent from the previous month but down from 5.7 percent one year ago. 

Columbus lost 100 jobs for the month, its total settling at 122,500. This puts Columbus up 1,600 jobs for the year.

The number of employed also decreased in June, with Columbus losing 13 employed residents. At 120,748 total employed residents, Columbus is up by 3,450 for the year. 

Initial claims for unemployment fell by about 1 percent for the month and are down by about 31 percent from last year.

The five-county MSA includes the Georgia counties of Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion and Muscogee and Russell in Alabama. 

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 1,684 active job postings in metro Columbus for June.