Metro Atlanta jobless rate drops to 8.2 percent | News

ATLANTA -- Metro Atlanta's preliminary unemployment rate dropped to 8.2 percent in October, down from 8.3 percent in September and 9.4 percent in October 2011.

In DeKalb County, the unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in October.

The new numbers were announced Thanksgiving Day by the Georgia Department of Labor.

State officials say the rate declined because of an increase of 19,500 new jobs in metro Atlanta.

Among other metro areas, the Athens area continued to have the lowest jobless rate at 6.2 percent, while metro Dalton had the highest at 11.3 percent.