The state Department of Labor reported Thursday that Georgia's unemployment rate rose slightly last month but remains lower than the national rate.
Georgia's unemployment rate for November was 3.7%, up from 3.6% in October and half a percentage point below the national rate.
"Despite a slight uptick in unemployment this November, Georgia's economy remains among the strongest in the nation," said Louis DeBroux, serving as emergency interim successor to the late state Commissioner of Labor Bruce Thompson, who died last month.
"We've added 85,000 workers to the labor force and created nearly 46,000 new job opportunities over the past 12 months, bringing us closer to the milestone of five million jobs," DeBroux added. "With unemployment still well below the national average, Georgia further establishes itself as the premier state for businesses to thrive and families of hardworking Georgians to prosper."
While the year-over-year numbers were positive, several month-over-month statistics showed declines.
In November, the number of jobs decreased by 2,000 to 4.98 million. The labor force also declined by 3,000 to about 5.4 million, the first decrease since November last year.
The number of employed Georgians fell by 5,217 to 5.2 million, while the number of unemployed rose by 2,217 to 198,405, the highest since July 2021.
On the bright side, the number of initial jobless claims filed in November declined by 9,323 to 19,319.