Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Columbus’ unemployment rate decreased in August.

Additionally, Columbus saw a monthly increase in jobs and a monthly decrease in initial claims in August. 

“It is very promising that we continue to see the unemployment rate drop month after month, while the job market gets stronger, evoking positive news for Georgia’s economy,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. “The state as a whole is leading the nation in competitive unemployment rates, coming in at 7^th lowest.”

In Columbus, the unemployment rate decreased 2.6 percentage points in August, reaching 6.1 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.3 percent.

The labor force decreased in August by 2,847 and ended the month with 116,572. That number is down 5,537 when compared to August of 2019.

Columbus finished the month with 109,406 employed residents.  That number increased by 342 over the month and is down by 7,490 when compared to the same time a year ago. 

Columbus ended August with 115,700. jobs. That number increased by 1,300 from July to August but was down by 5,900 when compared to this time last year. 

The number of unemployment claims went down by 54 percent in August. When compared to last August, claims were up by about 1,115 percent. 

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 3,294 active job postings in metro Columbus for August.