Thanksgiving Treat: Jobless Rate Falls in Alpharetta, Milton

By Scott Bernarde

Here’s something to be thankful for, just in time for the holiday.

The Georgia Department of Labor announced early Thanksgiving morning that the unemployment rate in Alpharetta, Milton and metro Atlanta fell in October.

The rate for Milton dropped from 6.1 percent in September to 5.8 percent in October. Milton’s jobless rate hovered right at 6 percent in October 2013.

In Alpharetta, the city’s unemployment rate also fell to 5.5 percent last month from 5.8 percent in September. The city’s jobless rate last year stood at 5.7 percent.

For metro Atlanta, the agency said in a news release the jobless rate dropped to 7.0 percent, down from 7.3 percent in September. The rate was 7.6 percent a year ago.

Fulton county also saw its rate drop two-tenths of a percent from 8.1 percent in September to 7.9 percent in October. The county’s rate in October 2013 was 8.3 percent.

From GDOL:

The rate fell as metro Atlanta added 18,800 jobs in October. The total number of jobs increased to 2,489,100, up from 2,470,300, or 0.8 percent, from September. The increase is 13 percent more jobs than the average September-to-October growth for the last three years. Much of the job gain came in trade, transportation and warehousing, which are the job sectors associated with holiday hiring, 9,100; professional and business services, 3,900; education and health services, 2,100; construction, 1,900; financial services, 1,300; and leisure and hospitality, 1,000.

And, there was an over-the-year gain of 57,800 jobs, or 2.4 percent, from 2,431,300 in October 2013. The gains came in trade, transportation and warehousing, 18,600; professional and business services, 16,200; leisure and hospitality, 8,500; construction, 5,200; financial services, 4,700; manufacturing, 2,400; government, 2,000; and education and health services, 1,500.

Also, there were 15,726 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in October, an increase of 1,494, or 10.5 percent, from 14,232 in September. Most of the increase in claims came in administrative and support services, wholesale and retail trade, finance and insurance, and manufacturing and construction. Over the year, claims were down by 3,694, or 19 percent, from 19,420 filed in October 2013.

Other October 2014 jobless rates for surrounding cities: Roswell at 5.3 percent, Sandy Springs at 5.6 percent, Marietta at 7.4 percent, Dunwoody at 5.5 percent, Johns Creek at 6.1 percent, Duluth at 6.1 percent, Kennesaw at 7.8 percent, Smyrna at 6.8 percent, and Woodstock at 7 percent.

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