Alpharetta Keeps Lowest Unemployment Rate at 6.4%

Alpharetta retained the lowest unemployment rate – 6.4 percent – of all cities for which the Georgia Department of Labor calculates statistics.

Alpharetta had 2,053 people who are counted as jobless in February, one fewer than in January. The number of people employed dropped slightly, but so did the labor force, down 121 to 32,037 workers.

A year ago Alpharetta's jobless rate was only slighlty higher at 6.7 percent. The workforce was smaller by 869 people.

City                     Rate
Alpharetta             6.4%
Atlanta                11.2
Douglasville         11.0
Johns Creek          7.0
Kennesaw             9.0
Marietta                8.7

Roswell                 6.5

Sandy Springs       6.5

Smyrna                8.4
Metro Atlanta        8.3

Georgia                8.6

Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate declined to 8.3 percent in February, down four-tenths of a percentage point from 8.7 percent in January. The rate was 9.3 percent in February a year ago.

The rate declined because the number of jobs increased and there were fewer new layoffs, which were represented by initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits.

The number of jobs in metro Atlanta increased by 6,400, climbing to 2,369,000 from 2,362,600 in January. Most of the growth came in professional and business services, 5,000, and education and health care, 2,500. Some seasonal jobs were lost in trade, transportation, and warehousing