Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Rome posted a strong June with key indicators showing improvement.

According to preliminary data, Rome added to its labor force and employed residents even as it grew jobs. Unemployment claims were also down across the one-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA).

“June was a very strong month for Georgia,” Butler said. “A number of local communities set records as the state added more than 20,000 jobs. Plus, we continued to add to our labor force and see the number of unemployment claims fall. Our local communities continue to prosper.”

Nationally, the unemployment rate inched up 0.1 percentage points in June to reach 3.7 percent. Georgia’s rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to settle at 3.7 percent.

In Rome, the unemployment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points in June, reaching 4.1 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.7 percent.

Rome ended June with 42,600 jobs. That’s a increase of 400 jobs over the month and an increase of 1,200 jobs when compared to the same time a year ago.

The labor force increased in June by 393. The total was 44,684. That number is up by 399 from the total from June 2018.

Rome ended June with 42,874 employed residents.  That number increased by 187 over the month and increased by 689 when compared to the same time a year ago.

The number of unemployment claims decreased by about 9 percent in June. When compared to last June, claims were down by about 7 percent.

The metropolitan statistical area includes just Floyd County.