Unemployment rate falls

Published 11:25 pm Thursday, May 26, 2011

The preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in the metro Dalton area decreased to 11.1 percent in April, down .4 percent from a revised 11.5 percent in March, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

The jobless rate in the metro Dalton area (Murray and Whitfield counties) in April 2010 was 11.2 percent.

The rate decreased because there were 800 new jobs added in the metro Dalton area in April, mostly in the service-related industries, including business and professional services, trade and with local government.    

The lowest rate, at 7.1 percent, was recorded in metro Athens, while the highest, at 11.5 percent, was in the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region around Dublin.  

Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April was 9.9 percent, down from a revised 10 percent in March. The state’s jobless rate was 10.1 percent in April a year ago. The last time the state’s rate was below 10 percent was in June 2009, when it was 9.8 percent.

April marked the 43rd consecutive month that Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9 percent.