Unemployment has dropped below 4 percent in the Gainesville metro area, the Georgia Department of Labor reported today, and remains the lowest rate in the state.

The jobless rate for metro Gainesville, which includes all of Hall County, was 3.8 percent in May, down from 4.2 percent in April. The rate in May 2015 was 5 percent.

The rate declined as employers created more jobs and more people were employed, the DOL reports. The number of jobs increased by 500, or 0.6 percent, to 86,800 in May. Most of the increase came in the service-related industries such as trade, transportation and warehousing.

Over the year, Gainesville gained 2,900 jobs, a 3.5 percent growth rate, up from 83,900 in May 2015. Most of the job gains came in the service-related industries such as retail trade, along with the goods producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction.

Gainesville’s labor force, which consists of people employed and those who are unemployed and actively looking for work, increased by 712 to 94,886. The number of employed people increased by 1,011, while the number of unemployed workers dropped by 299.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 32, or 4.8 percent, to 636 in May. Most of the decrease came in administrative and support services. However, over the year, claims were up by 244, or 62.2 percent, from 392 in May 2015.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 3.8 percent, while the Heart of Georgia/Altamaha region had the highest at 6.1 percent. The unemployment rate in the Georgia Mountains region in May was 4 percent, down from 4.3 percent in April. The rate in May 2015 was 5.2 percent.
Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for May was 5.3 percent, down from 5.5 percent in April. It was 5.9 percent in May 2015.