Smyrna's Unemployment Rate Again Rises to 8.4%

Smyrna's unemployment rate rose to 8.4 percent in February, with 2,534 people counted as jobless in the Cobb County city.

Just a few weeks ago the Georgia Department of Labor reported the city's January jobless rate at 8.4 percent, but after revisions the agency revealed the actual rate was 8.1 percent.

An additional 110 workers were counted as unemployed last month.

Smyrna retains the distinction of having the lowest unemployment rate of the three Cobb cities for which statistics are compiled, with Marietta at 8.7 percent and Kennesaw at 9 percent.

Overall Cobb County's February unemployment rate was even better than those three cities, with 7.4 percent of the labor force considered jobless. That was a drop of four-tenths of a percent from January.

City                     Rate
Alpharetta             6.4%
Atlanta                11.2
Douglasville         11.0
Johns Creek          7.0
Kennesaw             9.0
Marietta                8.7

Roswell                 6.5

Sandy Springs       6.5

Smyrna                8.4
Metro Atlanta        8.3

Georgia                8.6

Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate declined to 8.3 percent in February, down four-tenths of a percentage point from 8.7 percent in January. The rate was 9.3 percent in February a year ago.

The rate declined because the number of jobs increased and there were fewer new layoffs, which were represented by initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits.

The number of jobs in metro Atlanta increased by 6,400, climbing to 2,369,000 from 2,362,600 in January. Most of the growth came in professional and business services, 5,000, and education and health care, 2,500. Some seasonal jobs were lost in trade, transportation, and warehousing.