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Effingham jobless rate falls
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ATLANTA—The Georgia Department of Labor announced that Effingham County’s unemployment rate for May was 4.2 percent, down from 4.4 percent in April.

Effingham County’s labor force for May was 27,452, up from 27,317, and 26,296 were employed. The unemployment rate for May 2015 was 5.3 percent.

Metro Savannah’s unemployment rate for May was 4.5 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from 4.7 percent in April. The rate in May 2015 was 5.8 percent.

The rate declined as employers created more jobs and more people were employed.

The number of jobs increased by 800, or 0.5 percent, to 177,800 in May. Most of the increase came in leisure and hospitality, education and health services, financial activities, transportation and warehousing, and local government.

Over the year, Savannah gained 5,700 jobs, a 3.3 percent growth rate, up from 172,100 in May 2015. Most of the job gains came in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, state and local government, education and health services, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and other services, along with manufacturing.

Savannah’s labor force, which consists of people employed and those who are unemployed and actively looking for work, increased by 677 to 180,104. The number of employed people increased by 985 to 172,016, while the number of unemployed workers dropped by 308.  

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 77, or 10.9 percent, to 781 in May. Most of the increase came in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and health care and social assistance. However, over the year, claims were down by 149, or 16 percent, from 930 in May 2015.

The unemployment rate in the Coastal Georgia region in May was 4.7 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from 4.9 percent in April. The rate in May 2015 was 6 percent.

The rate declined as the number of employed residents rose by 1,810 and Coastal Georgia’s labor force increased by 1,137 to 319,728.    

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 77, or 5.8 percent, to 1,395 in May. Most of the increase came in health care

and social assistance, transportation and warehousing, and educational services.
However, over the year, claims were down by 388, or 21.8 percent, from 1,783 in May 2015.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 3.8 percent, while the Heart of Georgia/Altamaha region had the highest at 6.1 percent. 

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for May was 5.3 percent, down from 5.5 percent in April. It was 5.9 percent in May 2015.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use the GDOL’s online job listing service, www.employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employees. In May, 2,490 jobs in Savannah were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 63,508 jobs were posted.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.georgia.gov.

To learn more about career opportunities, Employ Georgia and other GDOL services for job seekers and employers, and to connect on social media, visit www.dol.georgia.gov