Georgia’s Jobless Rate Drops to 9% in September

Georgia’s unemployment rate fell to 9% last month, down from 9.2 % in August. State labor commissioner Mark Butler says although the state actually lost 400 jobs from August to September, there was still some growth in key job sectors, such as manufacturing.

“We’re actually seeing the highest number of manufacturing jobs we’ve seen in pretty close to five years,” Butler says, “As a matter of fact, last month’s manufacturing gains were the largest month-over-month gains we’ve seen since 1994.”

The state’s labor force also grew in September. The number of long-term unemployed, those who’ve been out of work for six months or more, dropped for the fifth straight month.