Thanksgiving Treat: Jobless Rate in Metro Atlanta Falls to 7 percent in October

By Scott Bernarde

Here’s something to be thankful for, just in time for the holiday.

The Georgia Department of Labor announced early Thanksgiving morning that the unemployment rate in metro Atlanta fell another three-tenths of the percentage point in October.

The agency said in a news release the jobless rate in the metro area fell to 7.0 percent, down from 7.3 in September. The rate was 7.6 percent a year ago.

>> Click here for local jobless data, including DeKalb County.

An excerpt from the news release:

The rate fell as Metro Atlanta added 18,800 jobs in October. The total number of jobs increased to 2,489,100, up from 2,470,300, or 0.8 percent, from September. The increase is 13 percent more jobs than the average September-to-October growth for the last three years. Much of the job gain came in trade, transportation and warehousing, which are the job sectors associated with holiday hiring, 9,100; professional and business services, 3,900; education and health services, 2,100; construction, 1,900; financial services, 1,300; and leisure and hospitality, 1,000.

And, there was an over-the-year gain of 57,800 jobs, or 2.4 percent, from 2,431,300 in October 2013. The gains came in trade, transportation and warehousing, 18,600; professional and business services, 16,200; leisure and hospitality, 8,500; construction, 5,200; financial services, 4,700; manufacturing, 2,400; government, 2,000; and education and health services, 1,500.

Also, there were 15,726 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in October, an increase of 1,494, or 10.5 percent, from 14,232 in September. Most of the increase in claims came in administrative and support services, wholesale and retail trade, finance and insurance, and manufacturing and construction. Over the year, claims were down by 3,694, or 19 percent, from 19,420 filed in October 2013.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.4 percent. Georgia’s rate was 7.7 for October. The U.S. rate is 5.8 percent.

Georgia labor market data is available at www.gdol.ga.gov

http://www.dol.state.ga.us/pr/laborforce.htm