The Georgia Department of Labor recently announced that Metro Savannah’s unemployment rate for March was 5.8 percent, down 0.2 percentage point from 6 percent in February. The rate in March 2014 was 7.4 percent.
Metro Savannah takes in Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties.
The rate declined as employers created more jobs. The number of jobs increased by 1,700, or 1 percent, in March to 169,100 from 167,400 in February. Most of the job gains came in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and retail trade, transportation and warehousing.
And there was an over-the-year gain of 7,900 jobs, or 4.9 percent, from 161,200 in March 2014. Most of the job growth came in trade, transportation and warehousing, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction.
However, there were 58, or 7.3 percent, more new claims for unemployment insurance filed in March, as the number increased to 852 from 794 in February. Most of the increase in claims came in construction. Over the year, claims were down by 409, or 32.4 percent, from 1,261 filed in March 2014.     
Metro Gainesville had the state’s lowest area jobless rate at 4.9 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7.8 percent.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March was 6.3 percent, unchanged from February. It was
7.3 percent in March 2014.