Unemployment Rate Lowest in Alpharetta at 5.2%

Alpharetta kept the lowest unemployment rate in metro Atlanta at 5.2 percent as all North Fulton cities remained below 6 percent in November.

Jobless rates in nearby Cherokee and Forsyth counties both remained under 6 percent also.

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced Thursday that metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate decreased to 7.0 percent in November, the lowest the rate has been since it was 6.9 percent in October 2008.

In these preliminary figures, Alpharetta's unemployment rate dropped six-tenths of a percent from October. Johns Creek had an even bigger drop at eight-tenths of a percent, with Roswell dropping seven-tenths of a percent. The jobless rate in Sandy Springs also dropped seven-tenths of a percent.

Cities              Nov 2013

Alpharetta            5.2           

Atlanta                 9.3

Johns Creek          5.7

Roswell                5.2 

Sandy Springs     5.5

Counties

Cherokee            5.7

Forsyth               5.3

Fulton                 7.8

Metro Atlanta's jobless rate was down seven-tenths of a percentage point from 7.7 percent in October. The rate was 8.1 percent in November a year ago.

The rate declined last month primarily because the number of jobs increased and the number of unemployment insurance claims were down.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.1 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 10 percent.