Unemployment Rate Drops by Half a Percent in Bartow

The unemployment rate in Bartow County dropped 7.7 percent in April, a fall of half a percent, according to stats released today by the Georgia Department of Labor. More county residents—125—were working than in the previous month.

Of the 48,839 people in Bartow County's labor force, 3,778 were unemployed in April. A year ago the unemployment rate was more than a percent, at 8.9 percent.

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The unemployment rate in adjacent Cobb County dropped below 7 percent in April, a fall of three tenths of a percent. Almost 1,000 more county residents were working than in the previous month.

Of the 377,630 people in the Cobb County labor force, 25,896 were unemployed in April. A year ago the unemployment rate was up to 8 percent.

To the east, Cherokee County's jobless rate dipped closer to 6 percent, falling four tenths of a percent in a month. The 6.2 percent unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the state, especially when comparing counties with at least 25,000 people in the labor force.

Cherokee County's labor force lost approximately 300 workers while another 300 found jobs to lower the rate.

In April 2012, Cherokee's labor force was having a tougher time, with 7.1 percent unemployment.

Forsyth County had an even lower unemployment rate last month, falling below 6 percent, down to 5.8 percent. That was a drop of three tenths of a percent since March. A year ago the rate was higher at 6.6 percent.

Other area counties didn't fare so well, though they too had lower unemployment rates.

Douglas County fell below 8 percent to 7.9 percent in April. There were approximately 380 fewer people unemployed, with 63,236 residents working

Paulding County's jobless rate also dropped by half a percent to 7.2 percent. Out of the 73,122 people in the work force, 5,262 were unemployed in April.

Fulton County stayed above 8 percent, falling only two tenths of a percent to 8.3 percent.

County                Rate
Bartow                 7.7%
Cherokee              6.2
Cobb                    6.9
Douglas                7.9
Forsyth                 5.8
Fulton                   8.3
Paulding                7.2
Metro Atlanta         7.6

The Georgia Department of Labor also announced in a news release that metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate declined to 7.6 percent in April, down three-tenths of a percentage point from March. The rate was 8.5 percent in April 2012.

The number of jobs in metro Atlanta increased by 12,900 to 2,394,100 in one month. Most of the growth came in:

• Professional and business services, 5,900;
• Trade and transportation, 3,700
• Leisure and hospitality, 2,700;
• Education and health services, 2,400; and
• Construction, 1,400.

Northwest Georgia's unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent in April, down two-tenths of a percentage point from 8.3 percent in March. The rate was 9 percent a year earlier.

It went down because 872 more people found jobs—Bartow's 34,041 unemployed people in March dropped to 33,169 in April. The rate also was down from a year earlier—by 3,772 from 36,941.

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