The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced today that Metro Savannah’s unemployment rate in January was 5.2 percent, up two-tenths of a percentage point from 5 percent in December. In January 2016, the rate was 5.3 percent.

The rate rose as the number of jobs declined, while the number of new layoffs increased. These are normal seasonal fluctuations for January.

The number of jobs decreased by 1,000, or 0.6 percent, to 177,000. Job losses came in the service industries, including trade, transportation and warehousing, and education and health services, along with government.  

However, over the year, 5,800 jobs were added, a 3.4 percent growth rate, up from 171,200 in January 2016. Job growth came in the service industries, including professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, along with trade, transportation and warehousing.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, rose by 138, or 17.7 percent, to 917. Most of the increase came in wholesale and retail trade, accommodations and food services and arts, entertainment and recreation, along with professional and technical services, health care and social assistance and manufacturing. However, over the year, claims were down by 109, or 10.6 percent, from 1,026 in January 2016.

The labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed, but actively looking for jobs, grew by 1,300 to 182,829. The number of unemployed residents rose by 472 to 9,475, while the number of employed residents increased by 828 to 173,354. Over the year, the number of people in the labor force increased by 5,627, as the number of employed grew by 5,549 and the number of unemployed increased by 78.

Metro Gainesville and the Georgia Mountains region had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.8 percent, while the Three Rivers region had the highest at 7.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for January was 5.5 percent, unchanged from a revised 5.5 percent in December. It was 5.6 percent in January 2016.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use the GDOL’s online job listing service employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employers. In January, 2,583 new job openings in Savannah were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 64,018 new job openings were posted.