Could it be signs of a strengthening local economy? Unemployment figures released late last week by the Georgia Dept. of Labor (DOL) show that the jobless rate in October fell by three-tenths of a percent in Coweta County and by a half a percentage point in Newnan.
Jobless figures for October showed Coweta’s unemployment rate dropping to 8.7 percent, down from 9 percent in September. Those compared to a September unemployment rate of 10.3 percent.
The rate for October reflects 5,047 people out of work in a workforce of 58,192.
Newnan also saw a marked decrease in jobless numbers for October. The 11 percent unemployment rate in September gave way to a 10.5 percent rate in October. Newnan’s jobless rate a year ago was a staggering 11.6 percent.
Unemployment in the 10-county Three Rivers Regional Commission area also improved in October. The rate last month fell to 10.3 percent, down from 10.6 percent in September and down from 11.9 percent in October 2009.
Three Rivers has a workforce of 218,405, with 22,538 in the region unemployed.
Unemployment in the broader 28-county Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area decreased to 9.7 percent in October, down from 9.9 percent a month earlier and 10.3 percent a year ago.
At 8 percent unemployment, Fayette is one of a handful of counties in the Atlanta MSA with jobless rates below 9.6 percent, according to DOL. The other counties below that threshold include Coweta, Cobb, Gwinnett, Cherokee, Pickens and Forsyth.
The jobless rate statewide improved slightly in October. The unemployment rate last month decreased to 9.6 percent compared to the 9.9 percent rate in September. That figure represents nearly 450,000 people out of work in a workforce of 4.65 million.
And across the United States the jobless rate remained at 9.6 percent in October. That number represents nearly 15 million Americans out of work in a workforce of more than 153 million.
