Georgia’s unemployment rate stayed the same between April and May, holding at 8.9 percent. Labor officials said it’s the first time in 10 months the rate has not fallen.

The state added more than 16,000 jobs in May and has 34,000 more jobs than a year ago, said Labor Commission Mark Butler.

“Two areas that really kind of stick out that were very encouraging is we saw job gains in manufacturing again, which has been a very good job sector for Georgia here in the last 11 to 12 months. Also, we saw an increase in construction jobs,” Butler said.

The jobless rate was 9.8 percent in May a year ago.

Butler said Georgia now has the fewest jobless workers receiving unemployment insurance benefits since the start of the recession in 2007. He also said the numbers of new layoffs and long-term unemployed are down.

Yet people out of work for more than six months still make up nearly 56 percent of Georgia’s jobless workers. But that long-term unemployment is down nearly 15,000 people from a year ago.

Contributors: Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Tags: unemployment, jobless rate, unemployment rate, Georgia unemployment rate, Mark Butler, long-term unemployed