Metro Atlanta sees record-breaking employment gains as unemployment declines to 2.8% in April

ATLANTA—The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday, May 28, that the 29-county Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area saw record-breaking employment gains in April, with an unemployment rate of 2.8%, down from a revised 3.3% in March. A year ago, the rate was 2.9%.

“Georgia has always been a state that rewards hard work, and right now, hard work is paying off in a big way,” said Georgia Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes. “Every single metro area in this state added jobs in April, more Georgians are earning mortgage-paying paychecks, and our workforce is more skilled and competitive than ever. That is what it looks like when Georgia, a Top State for Talent, goes to work.”

The labor force in Atlanta decreased by 6,523 to 3,345,576 and was up 40,547 from April 2025. The number of employed increased by 8,895 to 3,251,035 (an all-time high) and was up 42,575 from a year ago. The number of unemployed decreased by 15,418 to 94,541 and was down 2,028 over the year.

Atlanta ended April with 3,118,500 jobs, up 5,400 from the previous month and 6,400 from a year ago.

Over the month of April, jobs were up in health care and social assistance, 2,500; wholesale trade, 2,300; accommodation and food services, 2,200; administrative and support services, 2,000; and professional and technical services, 1,500.

Jobs were down over the month in information, 2,200; transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 1,700; specialty trade contractors, 1,600; state government, 800; and finance and insurance, 400.

The industries with the most over-the-year job gains were health care and social assistance, 19,200; administrative and support services, 7,400; arts, entertainment, and recreation, 2,500; wholesale trade, 1,400; and local government, 1,300.

Jobs were down over the year in the federal government, 6,500; professional and technical services, 6,100; transportation, warehousing, and utilities, 3,500; non-durable goods manufacturing, 2,900; and accommodation and food services, 2,400.

In April, initial unemployment claims increased by 275 from the previous month to 10,725. Claims were down by 2,235 from April of the previous year.