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Local unemployment is at a record low

There’s at least one reason to be merry as Athens heads into the holiday season: The unemployment rate in Athens is at an all-time low.

According to Mark Butler, Georgia’s Labor Commissioner, only 2.2 percent of Athens residents were unemployed by the end of October, the last month for which data are available. That’s down from 4.5 percent unemployed at the same time last year.

As of October of this year, Athens gained 343 workers, ending the month with 98,800 employed across all job types. The low unemployment rate is not limited to Athens, but holds true across all of Georgia. Now, Butler says the focus is on finding Georgians to fill critical positions for what looks to be a strong holiday season.

The Georgia Department of Labor’s online job website, Employ Georgia, shows approximately 3,463 open positions in Athens for the month of October.

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