Georgia’s unemployment rate fell for the 18th month in a row in October, dipping to a new all-time low of 3.1%, according to numbers released late last week by the Georgia Department of Labor.

The unemployment rate had been 3.3% in September, falling from 5.9% in October 2020. The jobless rate has fallen every month since hitting an all-time high of 12.5% at the start of the pandemic in April 2020.

The state’s previous all-time low unemployment rate, since the current survey began in 1973, was 3.3%. That floor, in addition to being hit in September, was also reached in January 2020.

The number of unemployed Georgians fell to about 158,000 in October as more people found jobs. The labor force was basically stagnant. Despite a high demand for labor, surveys show few new people have begun looking for jobs in Georgia since April.

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said, “The continual increase in employment opportunity, particularly in those areas hardest hit by the pandemic, reinforces the critical need for encouraging available Georgians back into the workforce.”