North Georgia’s Carpet Capital isn’t spinning out new jobs like it once did, but the jobless rate in metropolitan Dalton did decline last month to its lowest level in nearly five and a half years.
The Georgia Department of Labor said Thursday that 9.1 percent of workers in metro Dalton were out of work in February, the lowest monthly level for unemployment in Dalton since October 2008. But the decline reflects primarily fewer people looking for work, according to the new state employment data.
The number of workers on the job in the Dalton area was up by 100 jobs from the previous month. But the number of persons in Dalton’s workforce fell by an even bigger 221. Over the past year, employment in metro Dalton has fallen by 171 jobs and the workforce has shrunk by an even bigger 605 workers.
With more workers searching elsewhere for jobs, Dalton’s jobless rate has plunged from 11.1 percent a year ago to 9.1 percent last month.
Dalton’s jobless rate declined in February despite higher unemployment in most counties in and around the Chattanooga region.