The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that the 29-county Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area recorded an unemployment rate of 3.3% in May, up three-tenths from a revised 3% in April. A year ago, the rate was 3.4%.

“Georgia's strength isn't measured in single months — it's proven over time," said Georgia Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes. "Even with slight unemployment increases throughout Georgia's regions in May, most of our metropolitan areas are showing lower unemployment than a year ago. That resilience reflects our modern, adaptive workforce, which is what keeps Georgia the No. 1 state for business in today's competitive, global marketplace.”

The labor force in Atlanta increased by 974 to 3,288,923. This number decreased by 18,174 compared to May 2024.

The number of employed decreased by 6,320 to 3,181,443 in May. Over the year, the number of employed declined by 13,246 from a year earlier.

The number of unemployed increased by 7,294 to 107,480 in May. Over the year, the number of unemployed fell by 4,928 from the previous year.

Atlanta ended May with 3,120,000 jobs. Jobs increased by 10,900 over the month and by 2,000 over the year.

Over the month, jobs were up in health care and social assistance, 4,100; accommodation and food services, 4,000; administrative and support services, 1,500; arts, entertainment, and recreation, 1,000; retail trade, 1,000; and local government, 1,000.

Jobs were down over the month in professional and technical services, 1,200; private educational services, 900; state government, 900; federal government, 800; and wholesale trade, 500.

The sectors with the most jobs gains in the past year are health care and social assistance, 20,000; local government, 2,100; management of companies and enterprises, 1,800; arts, entertainment, and recreation, 1,500; and finance and insurance, 1,300.

Jobs were down over the year in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 5,200; accommodation and food services, 4,700; administrative and support services, 4,300; retail trade, 3,000; and specialty trade contractors, 2,600.

In May, initial unemployment claims decreased by 988 from the previous month to 11,972. Claims were up by 635 from May of the previous year.