Jobless Rate Falls Slightly in Cherokee County

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CANTON, GA -- The number of citizens unemployed in Cherokee County decreased ever so slightly last month, according to figures released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor.

The county's unemployment rate for March was 4.3 percent, down a hair from 4.4 percent in February. Cherokee's jobless rate in March 2015 stood at 4.6 percent.

So, how does Cherokee County stack up against its neighbors?

Jobless rates for surrounding counties include: Bartow at 5.2 percent; Cobb at 4.7 percent; Dawson at 4.8 percent; Forsyth at 4.2 percent; Fulton at 5.5 percent; and Pickens at 5 percent.

The metro Atlanta jobless rate also fell slightly last month to 5.2 percent from 5.3 percent in February. The region's rate in March 2015 was 5.7 percent.

The rate declined as employers created more jobs and laid off fewer workers, GDOL stipulates.

The number of jobs increased by 11,300, or 0.4 percent, to 2,622,500 from 2,611,200 in February. Most of the increase came in leisure and hospitality at 4,100; education and health services at 3,600; government at 1,200; manufacturing at 800; professional and business services and construction at 500 each; and trade and transportation and warehousing at 400.

With a loss of 300 jobs, information services was the only major employment sector to lose jobs.

Over the year, Atlanta gained 77,000 jobs, a 3 percent growth rate, up from 2,545,500 in March 2015. Most of the job gains came in trade, transportation and warehousing at 18,300; leisure and hospitality at 14,100; professional and business services at 14,000; education and health services at 11,000; construction at 8,500; manufacturing at 5,000; and government at 4,000. Information services lost 1,500 jobs.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 718, or 5.2 percent, to 13,035 in March. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing and construction. And, over the year, claims were down by 1,232, or 8.6 percent, from 14,267 in March 2015.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.5 percent, while the River Valley region had the highest at 6.9 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for March was 5.5 percent, up from 5.4 percent in February. It was 6.2 percent in March 2015.

Note: local unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. More details can be found online.

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Image via Shutterstock