Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 7 percent in March, its lowest point since September 2008, the state labor department said Thursday.
The rate was down from 8.4 percent a year ago as the total number of jobs increased by .7 percent to 4,064,200.
“This is the ninth month in a row that Georgia’s unemployment rate has dropped,” said state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “(We) continue to see employers creating more jobs and laying off fewer workers. We added 27,400 jobs, which is the most February-to-March job growth we’ve seen in 10 years.”
Over the year, the number of jobs increased by 69,000, or 1.7 percent. Most of the job gains were made in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services and trade, transportation and warehousing.
The same industries also made the most job gains, as well as construction, which added 7,400 positions. Butler said construction was the state’s fastest growing sector, experiencing over-the-year growth of 5.2 percent.
Metro Savannah saw job gains of 1.7 percent over the year, about 2,400 new jobs, for a total of 77,300.
Statewide, there were 30,814 new claims for unemployment insurance in March, the fewest claims filed since February 2007.
Yet in Chatham County new layoffs increased, with 1,032 claims filed in March, 300 more than last month and about 225 more than last year. In Effingham, 128 claims were filed compared to 156 last year, and in Bryan, claims barely budged over the month from 61 to 66.
The March unemployment rate for metro Savannah will be released next Thursday.
