Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Atlanta’s annual numbers for jobs remain strong, starting 2020 in a positive fashion. 

According to preliminary data, the 29-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) also showed fewer claims for unemployment were filed this January, than January 2019.

“Over the year, we are still seeing positive data and our unemployment rates are still some of the lowest ever on record,” Butler said.

In Atlanta, the unemployment rate increased 0.5 percentage points in January, reaching 3.2 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.0 percent.

Atlanta ended January with 2,858,400 jobs. That number decreased by 45,600 from December to January, a traditional occurrence after the holiday season, but increased by 54,100 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The labor force decreased in January by 7,522 and ended the month with 3,121,406. That number is down 57,289 when compared to January of 2019.

Atlanta finished the month with 3,020,125 employed residents.  That number decreased by 25,335 over the month and is down by 78,039 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims went up by about 47 percent in January. When compared to last January, claims were down by about 4 percent.