Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate fell from 6.1 percent in July to 5.7 percent in August, the state labor department said Thursday. This is the lowest rate for Atlanta since May of 2008.
Here’s what is going on:
— Employers were hiring workers. The number of jobs grew by 4,800 from July to August, totaling 2,592,200 in the metro area.
— The number of people in the workforce fell by 30,000 from July.
— The sectors that added employees included education and local government, as schools swung back into session, as well as healthcare and construction.
— Employers laid off fewer people. There was a 10 percent drop in first-time claims for unemployment benefits from August of last year to August 2015.
— Over the past year, the metro area has added about 66,400 jobs. That brought the unemployment rate down pretty dramatically from 7.3 percent in August of last year. But Atlanta’s rate is still considerably higher than the 5.1 percent national average.
Bonus fact so you sound smart at the water cooler: There have been 92 months since 2007. The Atlanta jobless rate has been below the national average in just one of them.
About the Author
