Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Three Rivers ended 2018 with strong gains in labor force and employed residents.

At the same time, the unemployment rate in the Three Rivers region fell by 0.6 over the year. 

“Last year was a strong one in terms of gains for the economy and jobs,” Butler said. “We saw new records set across the state. Our unemployment rate continued to trend downward. Jobs were created and more Georgians became employed.”

The unemployment rate for December, at 3.7 percent, was up 0.4 percent over the previous month. A year ago, the rate was 4.3 percent. The December rate was tied for fourth lowest among the 12 regions.

The labor force in Three Rivers went grew by 2,073 over the past 12 months to end 2018 at 250,079. That’s an average increase of nearly 175. For the month, the number increased by 1,357.

Three Rivers also added employed residents in 2018. The year-end total of 240,872 grew by 3,414 over the past 12 months, more than 280 a month. For December, the number was up by 236.

Claims for unemployment insurance were up by 21 percent in December. They were down by 16 percent when compared to the same month a year ago.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service atemploygeorgia.com showed 1,421 active job postings in metro Three Rivers for December.

The Three Rivers area includes Butts, Carroll, Coweta, Heard, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, Troup and Upson counties.