Atlanta Metro Area Unemployment Drops In September

ATLANTA, GA — Atlanta set a record in September for the number of employed residents, according to a release from the Georgia Department of Labor. The state's labor commissioner, Mark Butler, called the month "remarkable" for employment.

"Four [metropolitan statistical areas] (MSAs) hits their lowest all-time unemployment rate," Butler said in the release, adding that all 12 MSAs increased in employed residents.

The unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percent nationally, the release said, to 3.5 percent, having added 130,000 jobs. Georgia's percentage now matches the country's at 3.5, after a 0.1 percent drop in unemployment.

If the unemployment rate drops one more percent, it will match the lowest rate since 2000.

Atlanta saw a particularly good month, with the unemployment rate dropping 0.6 percent down to 2.9 percent. This is down an entire percentage point from one year ago, the release says, and now has 2.85 million jobs.