Gwinnett County, Metro Atlanta Jobless Rates Fall in March

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The unemployment rate in Gwinnett County fell to 5.3 percent in March, according to preliminary data released by the state labor department.

The rate in February was 5.4 percent. The rate in March 2014 was 6.2 percent.

The Georgia Department of Labor said in a Thursday news release that the rate in metro Atlanta also declined last month — 5.9 percent, down from 6.1 in February and 7.0 a year ago.

The agency also released figures for cities with populations of 25,000 or more. Three Gwinnett cities were included in that list:

• Duluth: 5.9 (also 5.9 in February)
• Lawrenceville: 7.0 (7.6 in February)
• Peachtree Corners: 3.0 (3.1 in February)

The labor department said the metro rate declined due to more jobs being created — up 1,900 jobs in March from February (0.1 percent).

However, initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 1.7 percent from February to March.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.9 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7.8 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March was 6.3 percent, unchanged from February. It was 7.3 percent in March 2014

Click here for more unemployment data from the Georgia Dept. of Labor