Kennesaw's Jobless Rate Rises Back to 9%

Kennesaw's 9 percent unemployment rate in Feburary was far from the highest in cities for which the Georgia Department of Labor records statistics. That would be Dalton at 13.9 percent. But that's scant comfort to the 1,520 people counted as out of work by the state.

In revised figures for January, Kennesaw's jobless rate of 8.7 percent was three-tenths of a percent lower than what was first reported.

The labor force for the city was relatively steady at 16,951.

Overall Cobb County's February unemployment rate was better than Kennesaw's, 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.