ATLANTA - State labor officials say metro Atlanta's unemployment rate has dropped to 6.8 percent.
The Georgia Department of Labor this morning announced the new March jobless rate.
It is down from 6.9 percent in February and 8 percent in March a year ago.
Authorities say the rate declined because Atlanta area employers created more jobs and laid off fewer workers.
Statewide, metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.1 percent.
The Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest rate at 9.4 percent.
The local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted
Georgia's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for March was 7.0 percent, down from 7.1 percent in February. The rate was 8.4 percent in March a year ago.