The unemployment rate in White County fell again in August.
A report released last week by the Georgia Department of Labor show the county’s preliminary unemployment rate for August at 2.9%, down from 4.4% in July. It’s the fourth consecutive month the rate has declined since rising from 3.5% in March to 10.5% in April as business endured the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county had 469 unemployed out of a civilian labor force of 15,922, in August.
A similar trend was reported for the 13-county Georgia Mountains Region, which includes White County. The region’s unemployment rate declined from 5.5% in July to 3.9%.
The region ended July with 321,092 employed residents. That’s about 4,700 more than the previous month, though it is just over 19,000 fewer than the same time last year. The total labor force rose by roughly 3,800 to 339,813 in July.
“It is very promising that we continue to see the unemployment rate drop month after month, while the job market gets stronger, evoking positive news for Georgia’s economy,” said state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “The state as a whole is leading the nation in competitive unemployment rates, coming in at seventh lowest.”