Cobb County's Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.4%

Cobb County's unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 percent in February, which was four-tenths of a percent lower than the month before.

Out of the county's 377,683 workers, 27,920 of them were jobless last month, according to figures released today by the Georgia Department of Labor. That's 1,620 fewer than were counted as unemployed in January. And coupled with the 3,184 fewer people in the workforce, it lowered the unemployment rate.

A year ago the unemployment rate was more than one percent higher at 8.6 percent.

County                Rate
Bartow                 9.0%
Cherokee              6.9
Cobb                    7.4
Douglas                8.8
Forsyth                 6.4
Fulton                   8.9
Paulding                7.8
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.