Metro Athens’ Unemployment Rate is Lowest in Georgia

In a press release today from the Georgia Department of Labor, Labor Commissioner Mark Butler announced that the preliminary unemployment rate in metro Athens is down six-tenths of a percentage point in November from 7.5% in October. In November 2010, the jobless rate in metro Athens was at 7.6%; the 2011 rates are substantially less at 6.9%.

The decline is credited to an increase of 400 jobs, mostly in private service-related industries such as trade, transportation. Warehousing, professional business services and fewer layoffs in manufacturing and retail were also cited as reasons for the decrease in unemployment.

Statistics:

• Metro Athens had the lowest area rate at 6.9 percent
• Metro Dalton had the highest at 11.8 percent.
• Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate had its largest one-month decline since 1977, falling to 9.9 percent from 10.2 percent in October. The jobless rate was 10.4 percent in November a year ago.
• Georgia’s rate dropped because of an increase of 22,400 jobs. Growth is attributed to retail trade, financial and business services and education and health care.
• Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data is available at www.dol.state.ga.us.