Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Atlanta saw its unemployment rate drop a substantial 1.9 percentage points in October.

Atlanta also saw monthly increases across all major indicators, including labor force, number of employed residents, and jobs for October.

“In October, every MSA saw unemployment rates dramatically decrease, including some areas that dropped to pre-pandemic numbers, demonstrating how strong our economy was across the state prior to the crisis and how we are successfully recovering,” said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler.  “We have a significant number of jobs available on EmployGeorgia from all parts of the state for those looking for new career opportunities.  Filling these jobs will be critical for continuing the growth we need to progress economically.” 

In Atlanta, the unemployment rate decreased 1.9 percentage points in October, reaching 6.6 percent. A year ago, the rate was 2.9 percent.

The labor force increased in Atlanta by 86,073 and ended the month with 3,090,363. That number is down 26,090 when compared to October of 2019. 

Atlanta finished the month with 2,945,144 employed residents.  That number increased by 139,670 over the month and is down by 80,755 when compared to the same time a year ago. 

Atlanta ended October with 2,787,900. jobs. That number increased by 28,600 from September to October but decreased by 90,600 when compared to this time last year.

The number of unemployment claims went down by 3 percent in Atlanta. When compared to last October, claims were up by about 1,061 percent. 

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 93,000 active job postings in metro Atlanta for October.