The Georgia Department of Labor announced that Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate in October was 4.9 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 5 percent in September. The rate in October 2015 was 5.3 percent.

As the rate declined, Atlanta employers continued to create new jobs and more people went to work.

The number of jobs increased by 25,600, or 1 percent, to 2,693,600. Over the previous three years, Atlanta has gained an average of 10,400 jobs from September to October. Most of the job gains came in professional and business services, 9,600; trade, transportation and warehousing, 6,500; education and health services, 4,700; government, 2,200; and construction, 1,600; financial activities, 600; other services, 400; and leisure and hospitality, 100 Manufacturing lost 100 jobs.

Over the year, the Metro Atlanta area gained 70,400 jobs, a 2.7 percent growth rate. Most of the job gains came in professional and business services, 18,000; trade, transportation and warehousing, 13,300; education and health services, 11,200; leisure and hospitality, 10,800; construction, 8,200; government, 5,000; financial activities, 4,800; and manufacturing, 1,200. Other services, such as repair and maintenance, lost 1,800 jobs, while information services lost 200.

The labor force increased by 11,644 to 2,955,368. The labor force consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed, but actively looking for jobs. While the number of employed residents increased by 15,495 to 2,811,642, the number of unemployed residents declined by 3,851 to 143,726.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, rose by 107, or 0.9 percent, to 11,542 in October. Most of the increase came in retail trade and administrative and support services.  Over the year, claims were down by 2,238, or 16.2 percent, from 13,780 in October 2015.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.4 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for October was 5.2 percent, up from 5.1 percent in September. It was 5.5 percent in October 2015.