Jobless rate in Dalton, Ga., falls to 6-year low

Unemployment in metropolitan Dalton, Ga., fell last month to the lowest level in nearly six years as carpet mills continued to rebound from the prolonged housing slump.

The Georgia Department of Labor said today that the jobless rate in metro Dalton fell by a half percent during March to 8.6 percent, the lowest level since August 2008. Dalton added 600 jobs during the month. The job gains came mostly in trade and textile manufacturing.

Dalton's unemployment rate has dropped in the past year by nearly two full percentage points from its 10.4 percent rate in March 2013. But the jobless rate in the metro area, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties, is still above the statewide average unemployment rate last month of 7.1 percent for all of Georgia.

Among Georgia's 14 metro areas, unemployment was highest in the Altamaha region at 9.4 percent and lowest in Athens at 5.1 percent.

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