Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the Northwest Georgia Region posted a strong February as critical job measures trended in the right direction.

Butler noted employed residents and labor force both increased. At the same time, the unemployment rate fell and monthly unemployment claims dropped.

“It’s good to see we picked up this year right where we left off from 2017,” Butler said. “I expect Georgia will have a very good 2018. And, it’s great to see so many of our local communities have gotten off to a good start.” In February, the number of employed residents in the Northwest Georgia Region area, at 405,814, was up by 5,413 over the month and 14,098 for the year.

The Northwest Georgia Region labor force ended February at 424,993. That number is up 4,884 over the month and up 11,282 over the past 12 months. At the same time, the jobless rate fell to 4.5 percent in February from 4.7 percent. A year ago, the jobless rate was 5.3 percent. Areas served by Georgia’s 12 regional commissions  had unemployment rates that varied from a low of 3.8 percent in the Georgia Mountains to 5.7 percent in the River Valley region.

In Northwest Georgia, initial claims for unemployment were down about 70 percent for the month and up about 8 percent for the year. The Northwest Georgia region includes Bartow, Chattooga, Catoosa, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,208 new active job postings in metro Northwest Georgia Region for February.