Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Valdosta saw its initial claims for unemployment drop over-the-month and over-the-year.

"This is a step in the right direction, but we need to continue to get Georgians back to work,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. “Increasing the amount of people in our labor force is critical for us to continue to improve.”

In Valdosta, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in May, staying at 3.9 percent. A year ago, the rate was 7.8 percent.

The labor force decreased in Valdosta by 1,055 and ended the month with 65,093. That number is up 2,063 when compared to May of 2020.

Valdosta finished the month with 62,547 employed residents.  That number decreased by 1,014 over the month and is up by 4,434 when compared to the same time a year ago.

Valdosta ended May with 55,500 jobs. That number decreased by 400 from April to May and increased by 3,100 when compared to this time last year.

The number of unemployment claims went down by 25 percent in May. When compared to last May, claims were down by about 86 percent.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 1,105 active job postings in metro Valdosta for May.

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