Forsyth County and Metro Atlanta Unemployment Numbers Fall in September

The unemployment rate in metro Atlanta dropped to 7.3 percent in September, according to labor force estimates released Thursday morning by the Georgia Department of Labor.

The August jobless rate was 8.0 percent, up from 7.9 in July. The rate in September 2013 was 7.6 percent.

Forsyth County’s unemployment rate decreased from 6.1 to 5.5 percent between August and September. The county’s unemployment rate was at 5.8 percent this time last year. 74 more Forsyth County citizens were in the workforce in September compared to August, and 597 more residents had jobs in September than in August.

In nearby Alpharetta, the unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent in September. August’s unemployment rate was 6.3 percent. In September of 2013, Alpharetta’s unemployment rate was at 5.6 percent. 43 Alpharetta residents joined the workforce between August and September of this year, and 203 Alpharetta residents got new jobs during the same time period.

In August, metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate in Georgia at 5.7 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest rate at 9.5 percent.

The number of jobs between August and September decreased by 4,000 to 2,468,600. Most of the lost jobs were in the professional services field and leisure and hospitality fields, as students left their summer jobs and returned to the classroom.

First time unemployment claims dropped 4.2 percent during the same stretch. Since September 2013, 51,900 jobs have been created in the metro Atlanta area, the second-best over-the-year job growth rate since 2007. The top job-creating field over the past 12 months in the metro Atlanta area has been in professional and business services, with 13,200 new jobs in the sector since this time last year.

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