Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Columbus added to its labor force in February. 

According to preliminary data, the five-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) also showed a jump in employment for the month and the year.

In Columbus, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points in February, reaching at 3.9 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.4 percent.

The labor force increased in February by 747 and ended the month with 123,546. That number is up 724 when compared to February of 2019.

Columbus ended February with 121,700 jobs. That number increased by 600 from January to February, and decreased by 900 over the year.

Columbus finished the month with 118,715 employed residents.  That number increased by 833 over the month and is down by 76 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went down by about 64 percent in February. When compared to last February, claims were down by about 17 percent.