Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the River Valley region saw its unemployment rate decrease in August.   
 
The 16-county region also saw a drop in the number of initial claims filed, preliminary numbers show.
 
“Georgia had another strong month in August,” said Butler. “The state set several records. Our local communities saw fewer unemployment claims filed as well as a drop in unemployment rates.”
 
Nationally, the unemployment rate was unchanged in August at 3.7 percent. The nation also grew its labor force, increased the number of employed residents and added more 130,000 jobs.
 
Georgia’s unemployment rate also held constant in August, staying at 3.6 percent.  A year ago, Georgia’s unemployment rate sat at 3.8 percent. The state’s all-time low of 3.4 percent was set in December 2000.
 
Rates fell or held steady across 10 of Georgia’s 12 planning regions.
 
In the region, the unemployment rate decreased in August by 0.1 percentage points, settling at 4.7 percent. A year ago, the rate was 5 percent.
 
The labor force decreased in August by 239. The August total was 146,276. That number is down by 595 from the total from August 2018.
 
River Valley ended August with 139,434 employed residents.  The number decreased by 114 in August and went down by 31 as compared to last August.
 
The number of unemployment claims decreased in August by about 30 percent. When compared to last August, claims were down by about 12 percent.