Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate fell to 6.8 percent in December from 7.0 percent in November, primarily because of increased seasonal hiring, the state labor department said Thursday.
Employers in retail, transportation and warehousing hired an additional 11,192 workers in December. That pushed the number of jobs in metro Atlanta to 2,450,900 jobs in December — the most since May 2008 and an increase of 2,500 jobs from November. At the same time, the number of unemployed Atlantans fell by 2,663 from November to December.
During the past year, the number of jobs increased by 58,900 since December 2012, when the jobless rate was 8.4 percent. Most of the gains came in professional and business services — 12,700 jobs; trade, transportation and warehousing — 12,400; leisure and hospitality — 11,000; and education and health services — 10,800.
Still, the local unemployment picture was not all bright. The number of new layoffs, represented by initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits, increased to 23,493 in December from 16,222 in November. Claims increased in several sectors, including manufacturing, construction, accommodations and food services, and administrative and support services.
For the core metro counties, Cobb and Gwinnett had the lowest rates at 6.1 percent. They were followed by DeKalb (7.2 percent), Fulton (7.5 percent) and Clayton (8.7 percent).
Statewide, metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.2 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 10.2 percent.
Last week, the labor department said Georgia’s unemployment rate for December was 7.4 percent. Both the state and metro Atlanta continue to trail the national rate, currently 6.7 percent.
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