Alpharetta's Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.1 Percent

Georgia’s unemployment rate is at least heading in the right direction.

State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler announced today, Jan. 19, that Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 9.7 percent in December marking the third straight month the rate has decreased.

Alpharetta Labor Force Estimates (not seasonally adjusted)*

Fulton County's overall unemployment rate is 9.6 percent. Johns Creek is at 7.7 percent, with Roswell even better at 7.0 percent. Forsyth County made one of the biggest declines in unemployment, dropping 1.1 percent down to 7.1 percent.

“The rate declined because 11,500 Georgians went back to work in December,” said Butler in a released statement. “Plus, we saw some increases in employment in areas that have been especially hard hit.”

The construction, manufacturing, information services, trade and transportation sectors added jobs last month, but the overall number of jobs dropped 7,300 with roughly one-half of the losses attributed to seasonal jobs.

“Although there were fewer jobs overall than last December, the private sector actually created 11,300 jobs over the year, which is a positive, but those gains were off-set by 20,300 job cuts in state and local government as the public sector adjusted to shrinking budgets,” Butler added.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance benefits rose 10.7 percent from November but were down 15.8 percent from December of 2010. The number of long-term unemployed workers decreased to 245,100, the lowest number since October of 2010.

The latest county numbers [for December 2011] will be released next Thursday, Jan. 26.

“This is great news for our state, particularly for Georgians who have faced a tough job market for several years now,” said Gov. Nathan Deal in a released statement. “A decrease in unemployment alongside a number of other positive economic indicators suggests we are heading in the right direction. I am fully committed to making Georgia the No. 1 state in the nation in which to do business. Working cooperatively with Commissioner Butler, we will do everything in our power to move Georgians from unemployment rolls to payrolls, creating a better quality of life for all those who call Georgia home.”

*Source: Georgia Department of Labor, Workforce Statistics & Economic Research