Metro Savannah’s unemployment rate for October was 6.7 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from 7.0 percent in September, the Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday. The rate in October of last year was 7.3 percent.
The rate fell as metro Savannah — Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties — added 1,200 jobs in October. The total number of jobs increased to 166,700, up from 165,500, or 0.7 percent, from September. Much of the job gain came in education and health services, professional and business services, manufacturing and the federal government.
There was also an over-the-year gain of 3,300 jobs, or 2.0 percent, from 163,400 in October 2013. The gains came in transportation and warehousing, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services and education and health services, along with mining, logging and construction.
There were 933 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in October, an increase of 72, or 8.4 percent, from 861 in September. Most of the increase in claims came in administrative and support services, manufacturing, and accommodations and food services. Over the year, claims were down by 312, or 25.1 percent from 1,245 filed in October 2013.
Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.4 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 9.3 percent.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for October was 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in September. It was 7.8 percent in October 2013. Georgia added 33,800 new jobs in October and 96,000 since October 2013, pushing its job total to 4,166,400, the largest number since May of 2008.
Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.gdol.ga.gov.
