Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Atlanta started 2019 with strong performance in January and February.
 
In the two-month cycle of January and February, Atlanta posted monthly gains in jobs, labor force and employed residents.  The unemployment rate fell in February.
 
“We’ve started strong in 2019,” Butler said. “Communities across the state added jobs, workers and improved employment. That is very good to see.”
 
Overall, Atlanta ended February with 2.8 million jobs. That’s an increase of about 66,500 from the job total as of a year ago.
 
Atlanta set records for jobs in healthcare and continued to add jobs in construction, government and manufacturing.
 
The unemployment rate inched up in early 2019. The rate climbed 0.7 percent in January but then fell by 0.4 percent in February, settling at 3.8 percent. A year ago, the rate was 4.2 percent.
 
Nationally, the rate for February was 3.8 percent.
 
The labor force decreased in January by 21,640 and grew in February by another 11,003. The February total was 3.1 million. That number is down by 1,473 from the total from February 2018.
 
Atlanta ended February with 2.96 million employed residents.  The number decreased by 41,939 in January and rose by 24,902 in February to net at a loss of 17,037 over the two-month cycle.
 
The numbers of unemployment claims fell in February by 39 percent and were up   in January by 62 percent. When compared to last February, claims were down by 7 percent.
 
In February, claims were down in trade and manufacturing.