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Fulton County's

unemployment rate dropped sharply in November.

In figures

released last week by the Department of Labor, Fulton's rate fell to

2.9 percent from 3.7 percent.

State Labor

Commissioner Michael Thurmond said that the unemployment rate in the

20-county metro Atlanta area declined to 2.3 percent in November, down

from 3 percent in October. The area's jobless rate was 2.7 percent in

November of 1999.

Georgia's

statewide unemployment rate declined to 2.9 percent in November, the

lowest monthly rate ever recorded by the Labor Department. By comparison,

the rate was down from 3.7 percent in October and from 3.4 percent in

November of 1999.

"This

record low unemployment is due largely to the underlying strength of

our economy and the hiring of seasonal workers for the holiday shopping

season," said Thurmond. "Because of continuing low unemployment

and the shortage of skilled workers, some employers are having a difficult

time finding enough employees."

Despite good

news on the unemployment front, Thurmond remains concerned about a prolonged

slowdown in job growth here in Georgia and the nation a slowdown that

may be masked by the increased hiring of seasonal workers for the holidays.

Georgia added

18,900 new jobs during November, bringing its total to 4,035,500. But

the latest figures from the Labor Department show a slowing in the state's

annualized job growth rate over the past nine months.

The annualized

job growth rate has declined from 4.2 percent in March to 1.5 percent

in November, a drop of 64 percent. In absolute numbers, 161,400 jobs

were added between March 1999 and March 2000, while only 58,700 were

added between November 1999 and November 2000.