COLUMBUS, Ga. - Muscogee County's unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in September 2026, up from 4.2% in August and 4.2% a year earlier, according to preliminary figures from the Georgia Department of Labor. The Columbus metropolitan area also lost approximately 600 payroll jobs from August, although its job count remained about 500 higher than in September 2025. The figures show that unemployment increased even as the number of employed residents grew during the month.

The county had 3,677 unemployed residents in September, compared with 3,488 in August and 3,432 in September 2025. Its labor force expanded to 84,362 people, an increase of 546 from August and 2,164 from a year earlier. The county's unemployment rate stood 0.9 percentage point above Georgia's not-seasonally-adjusted rate of 3.5%.

Unemployment Rates in September 2026

The Georgia Department of Labor released its September labor force estimates for all areas on Oct. 22, 2026. The county and metropolitan figures are not seasonally adjusted, meaning they have not been adjusted for regular seasonal employment patterns. The table compares September with August and the same month a year earlier, with changes expressed in percentage points.

Source: Georgia Department of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. All rates in this table are not seasonally adjusted. Changes are calculated in percentage points.

Muscogee County Labor Force Grew by 546 People

Muscogee County's labor force increased from 83,816 in August to 84,362 in September, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The number of employed residents also rose, climbing from 80,328 to 80,685, a gain of 357. However, the number of unemployed residents increased by 189, resulting in the county's higher unemployment rate.

Compared with September 2025, the county had 2,164 additional people in its labor force and 1,919 more employed residents. The unemployed population increased by 245 over the same period, from 3,432 to 3,677. Those changes pushed the unemployment rate from 4.2% to 4.4%, an increase of 0.2 percentage point.

The department's separate city table lists Columbus with the same September figures as Muscogee County. It reports a labor force of 84,362, employment of 80,685 and unemployment of 3,677. The city unemployment rate is also listed at 4.4%.

Columbus Metro Unemployment Reached 4.3%

The broader Columbus, Georgia-Alabama metropolitan statistical area recorded a 4.3% unemployment rate in September, up from 4.1% in August. The rate was also higher than the 4.0% reported in September 2025, an annual increase of 0.3 percentage point. The metropolitan area includes Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Muscogee, Stewart and Talbot counties in Georgia, along with Russell County in Alabama.

The metro labor force reached 132,005 in September, compared with 131,316 in August and 129,576 a year earlier. That represented increases of 689 people over the month and 2,429 over the year. Employment rose to 126,380, an increase of 419 from August and 1,963 from September 2025.

At the same time, the number of unemployed metropolitan residents climbed to 5,625 in September. That was 270 more than August's 5,355 and 466 more than September 2025's 5,159. The labor force expanded faster than employment during both comparison periods, contributing to the increase in the unemployment rate.

The Georgia portion of the Columbus metro recorded a 4.2% unemployment rate, compared with 4.0% in August and 4.1% a year earlier. Its September labor force totaled 109,237 people. Russell County, which makes up the Alabama portion, had a labor force of 22,768 and an unemployment rate of 4.4%, compared with 4.2% in August and 3.6% in September 2025.

Metro Payroll Jobs Fell by 600 From August

Separate payroll employment figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the Columbus metropolitan area had approximately 122,600 nonfarm jobs in September. That was down from 123,200 in August, a decrease of about 600 jobs. However, September employment remained approximately 500 jobs above the 122,100 recorded in September 2025.

The payroll figures measure jobs by place of work, while the labor force figures count employed and unemployed residents. As a result, the two measures can move in different directions during the same month. In September, metro payroll employment decreased even though the labor force estimates showed 419 more employed metropolitan residents than in August.

The payroll estimates are not seasonally adjusted and are reported in thousands. September's preliminary total was 122.6 thousand, compared with 123.2 thousand in August and 122.1 thousand a year earlier. The figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Current Employment Statistics program.

Georgia's Unemployment Rate Was 3.5% Without Seasonal Adjustment

Georgia's not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.5% in September, compared with 3.4% in both August 2026 and September 2025. On the same basis, Muscogee County's 4.4% rate was 0.9 percentage point higher than the state rate. The Columbus metro's 4.3% rate was 0.8 percentage point above Georgia's rate.

Georgia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was lower, at 3.3% in September, compared with 3.2% in August and 3.4% a year earlier. The monthly change represented an increase of 0.1 percentage point, while the annual change represented a decrease of 0.1 percentage point. These seasonally adjusted statewide figures should not be directly compared with the unadjusted county and metro rates.

The state's seasonally adjusted labor force reached a record 5,504,015 people, up 13,679 over the month and 73,187 over the year. Employment also reached a record 5,325,131, increasing by 10,279 from August and 80,830 from September 2025. The number of unemployed Georgians reached 178,884, up 3,400 over the month but down 7,643 from a year earlier.

Statewide payroll employment totaled 4,983,000 jobs in September, down 500 from August and 200 from September 2025. The Georgia Department of Labor also reported 15,874 initial unemployment claims for the month. That was the lowest monthly claims total since April 1974, when the state recorded 15,697.

How Columbus Compares With the United States

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2% in September, up from 4.1% in August but below September 2025's 4.4%. Georgia's seasonally adjusted rate of 3.3% was 0.9 percentage point below the national figure. Both figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Georgia Department of Labor data.

Without seasonal adjustment, the national unemployment rate was 4.0% in September, compared with 4.3% in August and 4.3% a year earlier. Muscogee County's 4.4% rate exceeded that September national figure by 0.4 percentage point, while the Columbus metro's 4.3% rate was 0.3 percentage point higher. These comparisons use unadjusted rates for all three areas.

## How we did this Columbus Times reviewed the Georgia Department of Labor's "Georgia Labor Force Estimates" report, which contains preliminary September 2026 figures and revised August 2026 and September 2025 estimates. We used the department's county, city, metropolitan and statewide labor force figures, along with its Oct. 15 statewide employment release and 2026 data release schedule. We also used the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Public Data API and published series for Columbus metropolitan payroll jobs and national unemployment rates, accessed Oct. 28, 2026. We calculated the percentage-point differences and payroll job changes from the reported figures, keeping seasonally adjusted and not-seasonally-adjusted comparisons separate.