The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate for September was 7.3 percent, down seven-tenths of a percentage point from 8.0 percent in August. The rate in September of last year was 7.6 percent. 

The rate dropped because there were 19,374 fewer unemployed people in the Atlanta area in September, according to the federal government’s monthly household survey, and there were fewer new layoffs. 

While the rate decreased, Metro Atlanta lost 4,000 jobs in September, as the total number of jobs declined to 2,468,600, down from 2,472,600, or 0.2 percent, from August. Much of the job loss came in professional and business services, as well as in leisure and hospitality, as students who worked during the summer returned to school.  However, four sectors gained jobs during the month: government, education and health services, construction, which has increased for the third straight month, and trade and transportation. 

There was an over-the-year gain of 51,900 jobs, or 2.2 percent, from September 2013’s 2,416,700. This was the second largest September-to-September growth since 2007. The job gains were in trade, transportation and warehousing, 14,400; professional and business services, 13,200; leisure and hospitality, 8,600; manufacturing, 4,600; construction, 3,900; financial services, 3,500; education and health services, 2,700; government, 2,000; and information services, 1,300. Other services, including repair and maintenance and personal and laundry services, lost 2,300 jobs.   

Also, there were 14,232 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in September, a decrease of 630, or 4.2 percent, from 14,862 in August. Most of the decrease in claims came in retail trade, accommodations and food services, and manufacturing and construction. Over the year, claims were down 14.9 percent from the 16,717 filed in September 2013.    

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.7 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 9.5 percent. 

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for September was 7.9 percent, down from 8.1 percent in August. It was 8.0 percent in September 2013.