Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Atlanta had mixed job numbers for the month of April as the state saw generally down numbers for several cities.
 
In Atlanta, the April unemployment rate fell while the number of jobs increased slightly for the month. However, those gains were somewhat offset by a large drop in the labor force and a modest drop in employment.  
 
“Even though we did see some fluctuations in the employment and workforce numbers across the state, job growth continues to be very strong,” Butler said.
 
Atlanta added 8,100 jobs in April, mostly in the leisure and hospitality industry, pushing its total to 2.75 million. That was an increase of 41,300 over last April, with most gains on the year coming from trade and transportation, education and health services, and leisure and hospitality. Construction has also seen significant growth. Atlanta was one of just three metropolitan statistical areas to grow by 1,000 jobs or more in April.
 
The unemployment rate also dropped by 0.4 percent to 3.6 percent. The last time Atlanta’s unemployment rate was at or below 3.6 percent was July 2001. The rate was 4.4 percent last April.
 
Atlanta, though, didn’t escape April without some challenges.
 
The labor force dropped in April by 20,551 to nearly 3.1 million but remains up by 67,345 for the year. Only one MSA, Brunswick, added to its work force during the month.
 
Atlanta also saw a modest drop in employment, losing 7,422 employed residents on the month and settling at just under 3 million overall. However, the area remains up by 89,880 on the year.
 
Initial claims for unemployment only rose by one percent for the month and remains down by almost 5 percent from last year. Claims were up in manufacturing and down in construction. Six of the 14 MSAs saw claims rise in April.
 
Counties included in the MSA are Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton.