Georgia Jobless Rate Falls in March

Georgia created 13,900 jobs in March and 35,600 in the past year as the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell for the eighth consecutive month, the Georgia Department of Labor announced Friday.

The jobless rate was 9 percent in March, down from a revised 9.1 percent in February and 9.8 percent in March 2011.

It’s the lowest rate since 8.9 percent in February 2009.

The national unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in March, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Atlanta metro area, including East Cobb, added 27,400 jobs between March 2011 and last month, the state Labor Department said.

And the metro area’s employment picture will get brighter today with the announcement that Baxter International will open a plant manufacturing blood-related products 40 miles east of Atlanta in Stanton Springs, near Covington, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The plant is expected to employ up to 1,800 people with a median salary of $60,000.

Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the state’s falling unemployment rate while the labor force expands “indicates a growing optimism among unemployed workers that they will be able to land a job.”

The state’s job growth the past year came in:

• Professional and business services, 28,900 new jobs.

• Trade and transportation, 10,700.

• Education and health services, 7,900.

• Manufacturing, 5,900.

• Leisure and hospitality, 1,200.

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