Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that River Valley saw an over-the-month and over-the-year decrease in its initial claims in May.

"This is a step in the right direction, but we need to continue to get Georgians back to work,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. “Increasing the amount of people in our labor force is critical for us to continue to improve.”

In River Valley, the unemployment rate remained unchanged, staying at 4.8 percent. A year ago, the rate was 9.4 percent.

The labor force decreased in May by 781. The May total was 145,674. That number is down by 258 from the total from May 2020.

River Valley ended May with 138,669 employed residents.  The number decreased by 763 in May and was up 6,414 as compared to last year.

Initial claims for unemployment decreased by 1 percent in May. When compared to last May, claims were down by about 81 percent.

The GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 5,326 active job postings in River Valley for May.

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