Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate rose to 8.0 percent in August from 7.9 percent in July, even as the number of jobs increased and layoffs declined, the state labor department said Thursday.
The number of jobs in metro Atlanta increased by 5,900 to total 2,470,600 in August.
The monthly job gains were in state and local government — 6,900; private education and health services — 4,000; manufacturing — 500; and construction and other services — 400 each.
Over the past year, 51,400 jobs were added. Still, the unemployment rate rose slighlty from August 2013 when it was 7.9 percent.
The main job growth was in professional and business services — 17,600; trade, transportation and warehousing — 11,300; leisure and hospitality — 8,500; manufacturing — 4,900; construction — 3,800; financial services — 3,600; information services — 2,000; and private education and health services — 1,300. Government jobs were unchanged over the year.
Meanwhile, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance — a key indicator for layoffs — dropped 22.9 percent from July to August to total 14,862. Over the year, jobless claims were down 15.4 percent from those filed in August 2013.
For the core metro Atlanta counties, Gwinnett had the lowest unemployment rate at 7.2 percent. Cobb was next with 7.4 percent, followed by DeKalb (8.4 percent), Fulton (8.9 percent) and Clayton (9.9 percent).
Last week, the labor department reported that Georgia’s unemployment rate rose to 8.1 percent in August — the highest for any state in the nation. The U.S. rate is 6.1 percent.
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