Georgia hits record highs for jobs and workforce, new labor report shows

More people are working in Georgia than ever before, according to new state labor data, even as some industries continue to lose jobs.

The Georgia Department of Labor says both the state's labor force and total employment reached record highs in February. Georgia's labor force grew to about 5.45 million people while employment climbed to roughly 5.25 million, both all-time highs.

The state's unemployment rate stood at 3.6% in February. That's slightly higher than this time last year, but still below the national average.

"More Georgians are working and contributing to our economy than ever before," Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes said in a statement, adding the state remains focused on connecting workers with stable, well-paying jobs.

Despite the record numbers, the report shows some mixed signals. Georgia lost about 4,200 jobs in February, marking the second straight month of job declines after revisions to earlier data.

The health care and social assistance sector led job growth, reaching a record high with more than 638,000 jobs. Other areas seeing gains included information, manufacturing and wholesale trade.

At the same time, several industries saw losses, including construction, transportation, retail, and food services.

Over the past year, health care added the most jobs, followed by local and state government. Meanwhile, federal government jobs saw the biggest drop.

There was some positive news for job seekers. Initial unemployment claims fell sharply in February, reaching their lowest level in several months.