Metro Atlanta unemployment rate declines to 5.2 percent

ATLANTA (AP) - State labor officials say metro Atlanta’s jobless rate has dropped slightly, to 5.2 percent.

The newly released unemployment rate for March is down from 5.3 percent in February, and 5.7 percent from a year ago.

The Georgia Department of Labor on Thursday announced the new rate.

Labor officials say the rate declined as employers created more jobs and eliminated fewer workers.

Elsewhere in Georgia, metro Gainesville had the lowest area unemployment rate at 4.5 percent.