Unemployment Rates For Northeast Georgia and Metro Atlanta Released

Figures released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor indicate the unemployment rate in metro Atlanta and the Northeast Georgia area continue to decline.

The metro Atlanta unemployment numbers have been adjusted to 9.7 percent, down from the 9.8 percent in March. In Northeast Georgia, the preliminary unadjusted employment rate is 9.2 percent, down from 9.4 percent in March. The lowest rate, at 7.1 percent, was recorded in metro Athens, while the highest, at 11.5 percent, was in the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region around Dublin.

In April last year the jobless rate in the Northeast Georgia area was 9.3 percent.

Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April was 9.9 percent, down slightly from a revised 10.0 percent in March. The state’s jobless rate was 10.1 percent in April a year ago. The last time the state’s rate was below 10 percent was in June 2009, when it was 9.8 percent. Georgia’s unemployment rate, however, is still above the national average, which in April was 9 percent – up from 8.8 percent in March, but down from 9.9 percent in April last year.

In March, Walton County unemployment rate at 10.1 percent was above the national average as was Gwinnett's at 8.9 percent. However, Gwinnett dropped below the national average in April to 8.7 percent while the national unemployment rate rose to 9 percent.

Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia's labor market data is available at www.dol.state.ga.us