Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the Southern Georgia region added to its labor force and added employed residents in July.
 
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate slightly increased, preliminary numbers for the 18-county region showed.
 
“Georgia continues to perform well in terms of jobs, claims and other data I’m seeing,” said Butler. “Georgia’s strong economy was also evident in July in our local communities where we again set several records.”
 
Nationally, the unemployment rate was unchanged in July at 3.7 percent. Georgia’s rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to settle at 3.6 percent.  A year ago, Georgia’s unemployment rate sat at 3.8 percent.
 
Rates fell or held steady across nine of Georgia’s 12 planning regions.
 
In the region, the July unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points, coming in at 4.1 percent.  It was 4.5 percent one year ago.
 
The labor force increased in July by 318 to reach 178,445 total members. The number has increased by 107 over the past 12 months.
 
The Southern Georgia region gained 193 employed residents in July, bringing its total to 171,137. That number has increased by 839 over the past year.
 
Initial claims for unemployment increased by about 78 percent in July. They are down by about 6 percent when compared to last July.