Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Wednesday that the Coastal Georgia region added to its labor force in May. 

The 10-county Coastal Georgia region also posted monthly gains in employed residents, preliminary numbers show.

“In May, we saw much needed growth in our labor force in many local areas,” Butler said. “We also saw more Georgians become employed. Overall, we head into the summer with a good jobs report.”

The unemployment rate rose in May. The rate went up by 0.3 percentage points in May, settling at 3.4 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.5 percent.

The labor force increased in May by 3,271. The May total was 331,823. That number is down by 2,120 from the total from May 2018.

Coastal Georgia ended May with 320,502 employed residents.  The number increased by 1,982 in May but was down by 1,748 as compared to last May.

The number of unemployment claims increased in May by about 25 percent. When compared to last May, claims were down by about 11 percent.