State Unemployment Rate Drops as Fewer File Claims

Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate dipped to 8.4 percent in March, the lowest rate since December 2008, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

Bartow County saw 77 fewer initial claims for unemployment insurance in March than in February and 52 fewer than a year earlier, representing 16 and 11.4 percent drops, respectively. The county's preliminary February jobless rate is 9 percent, down from a revised 9.2 in January and 10 percent at the same time last year.

The state jobless rate declined from 8.6 percent in February because of an increase in the number of jobs and fewer new layoffs. The rate was down from 9.1 percent in March a year ago.

"Georgia employers created 23,700 jobs last month, which is one of the best job growth numbers we’ve had in March for almost a decade," said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. "The growth was in several industries, led by leisure and hospitality and professional and business services."

Additional growth came in trade, transportation and warehousing, construction and local government. The March growth pushed the number of jobs to 3,997,100, up from 3,973,400 in February.

Fewer residents of the metro Atlanta area filed unemployment insurance claims in March than did in February. While the number of new layoffs dropped by approximately 10 percent in Cherokee and Paulding counties and more in Bartow, the numbers weren't as good in other counties.

In Cobb the decrease was just 2.2 percent, but in Douglas the number of claims filed increased—though that was just 3 more people filing in March than did in February.

In the state, the number of long-term unemployed workers declined for the 11th consecutive month. It fell 6,500 to 181,100 in March, its lowest level since January 2010. The long-term unemployed—those out of work for more than 26 weeks—make up 44.5 percent of those unemployed in Georgia.

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