The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Savannah’s unemployment rate in August was 4.9 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 5 percent in July. The rate in August 2015 was 5.5 percent.

The rate fell as employers added more jobs and laid off fewer workers. 

The number of jobs increased by 800, or 0.5 percent, to 179,700. Most of the job gains came in professional and business services, education and health services, and state and local government as the public schools reopened for the new school year.

Over the year, Savannah gained 6,900 jobs, a 4 percent growth rate, up from 172,800 in August 2015. Most of the job gains came in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, trade, transportation and warehousing, state and local government, along with manufacturing.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 52, or 6.2 percent, to 789 in August. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. Over the year, claims were down by 62, or 7.3 percent, from 851 in August 2015.

The labor force, which consists of employed people and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, declined by 1,919 to 183,424 in August. The number of employed residents decreased by 1,696 to 174,373, while  the number of unemployed residents fell by 223 to 9,051.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.4 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 6.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for August was 4.9 percent, down from 5 percent in July. It was 5.6 percent in August 2015.