Unemployment Rates Mixed Bag in October

The unemployment rate in Smyrna increased over the month of October, while the rate in Cobb County was down during the same time period, data from the Georgia Department of Labor shows.

Smyrna’s unemployment rate increased from its September final total of 4.6 percent to 4.7 percent, the data reports. The city’s workforce increased from 32,302 to 32,536, while at the same time the number of unemployed Smyrna residents grew from 1,470 to 1,517. Despite the higher unemployment rate, the city’s jobless numbers are significantly better than in October of 2014, when the unemployment rate sat at 5.8 percent.

Cobb’s unemployment rate between September and October decreased from 4.9 to 4.8 percent, according to preliminary unemployment figures for October. There were 376,433 people in the county’s workforce in October, compared to 374,163 in September. Furthermore, only 19,157 Cobb residents were unemployed in October, compared to 19,326 in September. In October of 2014, Cobb’s unemployment rate was 5.8 percent.

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Georgia’s overall unemployment rate of 5.7 percent is the lowest seen in seven and a half years, according to Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. The unemployment rate in October of 2014 was 6.8 percent.

Employers created 29,000 jobs between September and October, Butler said. During the last three September to October periods, employers only managed to create an average of 16,000 jobs. All told, around 97,000 new jobs have been created so far this year.

October’s job creators were in trade, transportation and warehousing, 6,800; professional and business services, 6,400; state and local government, 4,800; manufacturing, 3,100; leisure and hospitality, 2,800; financial activities, 2,700; education and health services, 1,100; information services, 800; construction, 600; and other services, such as repair, maintenance, personal and laundry services, 200.