The Georgia Department of Labor announced that Metro Savannah’s unemployment rate in April was 4.3 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from 4.5 percent in March. In April 2016, the rate was 4.8 percent.

The rate dropped as the labor force declined, there were fewer employed and unemployed residents, there was a small job loss and the number of new layoffs decreased.

The labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed and actively looking for jobs, declined by 667 to 184,129 from March to April. As the labor force decreased, so did the numbers of employed and unemployed residents. There were 392 fewer employed and 275 fewer unemployed residents.

However, compared to April a year ago, the labor force had a net increase of 3,869, the number of employed grew by 4,463, and there were 594 fewer unemployed.

The number of jobs in Savannah in April decreased by 100, or 0.1 percent, to 179,700. The job losses came in professional and business services.

Over-the-year, however, a total of 3,900 jobs were added, a 2.2 percent growth rate, up from 175,800 in April 2016. The job growth came mostly in local government, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, professional and business services and wholesale trade, along with mining, logging and construction.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, declined by six, or 1.1 percent, to 556. The decrease came in administrative and support services. Over the year, claims were down by 148, or 21 percent, from 704 in April 2016.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 3.9 percent, while the Heart of Georgia and River Valley regions had the highest at 5.9 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for April was 5 percent, down from 5.1 percent in March. It was 5.4 percent in April 2016.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use GDOL’s online job listing service employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employees. In April, 2,984 new job openings in Savannah were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 75,183 new job openings were posted.