Jobless Rates Down Slightly in Gwinnett, Metro

The unemployment rate declined slightly last month in Gwinnett County and the rest of metro Atlanta, according to state labor department data released Thursday.

The jobless rate in Gwinnett County fell one-tenth of a percentage point in September to 5.1 percent, down from 5.2 in August. The rate in September 2014 was 6.1 percent.

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The metro Atlanta rate for September was 5.5 percent, also down one-tenth from the previous month. The rate was 6.7 percent a year ago.

The jobless rates in Gwinnett’s three cities over 25,000, which are separately tracked by the labor department, were either steady or slightly down last month:

• Duluth: 5.3 percent in September; 5.3 August; 6.7 Sept. 2014
• Lawrenceville: 6.5 September; 6.6 August; 7.7 Sept. 2014
• Peachtree Corners: 3.0 September; 3.0 August; 3.6 Sept. 2014 (Peachtree Corners is second among Georgia cities; Brookhaven is first at 2.5 percent)

The state labor department said the decline was due to more people finding work and fewer being laid off.

The number of employed increased to 2,654,589 from 2,652,187 in August. Also, the number of new layoffs, as measured by initial claims for unemployment insurance, declined 4.6 percent, to 12,742 in September.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate last month in Georgia at 4.7 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7.5 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for September was 5.8 percent, unchanged from August.

Note: Local area unemployment data is not seasonally adjusted.

Scroll through the attachment below for more unemployment info:

Area Rates in GA Sept 2015