State Unemployment Rate Falls Again

Georgia created 13,900 jobs in March and 35,600 in the past year as the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell for the eighth consecutive month, the Georgia Department of Labor announced today.

The jobless rate was 9 percent in March, down from a revised 9.1 percent in February and 9.8 percent in March 2011.

It’s the lowest rate since 8.9 percent in February 2009.

The national unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in March, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Atlanta metro area, including West Cobb, added 27,400 jobs between March 2011 and last month, the state Labor Department said.

And the metro area’s employment picture will get brighter today with the announcement that Baxter International will open a plant manufacturing blood-related products 40 miles east of Atlanta in Stanton Springs, near Covington, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The plant is expected to employ up to 1,800 people with a median salary of $60,000.

Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the state’s falling unemployment rate while the labor force expands “indicates a growing optimism among unemployed workers that they will be able to land a job.”

The state’s job growth the past year came in:

• Professional and business services, 28,900 new jobs.

• Trade and transportation, 10,700.

• Education and health services, 7,900.

• Manufacturing, 5,900.

• Leisure and hospitality, 1,200.

The state will announce March’s local unemployment numbers next Thursday.

In February, Cobb and had an unemployment rate of 8.4 percent. The county had rose by almost 9,000 jobs compared to February 2011, when the jobless rate was 9.2 percent.

For those seeking jobs, the Georgia Labor Department will hold an online chat about resume writing Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can join the live chat on West Cobb Patch.

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