Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Atlanta posted record employment and jobs numbers in June.

Atlanta notched increases in the labor force, number of employed, and jobs. All indicators also remain positive across the 29-county metropolitan statistical area for the year.

The labor force grew faster than could be absorbed through hiring, causing the unemployment rate to rise, the only negative indicator for the month.

So, Butler remains confident about the overall job market.

“The Georgia job market is very strong,” said Butler. “An uptick in the unemployment rate is common this time of year due to an increase in high school and college graduates entering the workforce.”

In June, Atlanta saw an increase in the number of employed residents, increasing by 3,638 to nearly 3 million – an all-time high. The number of employed is up 100,796 over the last year.

The labor force also grew by 22,417, exceeding 3.1 million for the first time in history. That was an increase of 80,347 over last year.

Atlanta saw strong growth in jobs over the last month, increasing by 8,900 and nearing 2.8 million total – also an all-time high. Most of those monthly job increases have come in professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and trade, transportation, and utilities. Over the last year, Atlanta saw an increase of 49,000 jobs, with the largest overall increases coming in trade, transportation, and utilities and the leisure and hospitality industries.

The unemployment rate increased by .6 percent to 4 percent. The rate was 4.8 percent last June.

Unemployment claims decreased by about 3 percent in June and remain down about 13 percent over the last year.

Counties included in the MSA are Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 42,171 active job postings in metro Atlanta for June, 35 percent of which are in STEM occupations.

Visit dol.georgia.gov to learn more about career opportunities, Employ Georgia and other GDOL services for job seekers and employers and to connect with us on social media.