Fayette County continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in the 10-county metro Atlanta area, according to figures released last week by the Georgia Department of Labor.

Preliminary numbers for November 1999 show a 1.7 percent rate for Fayette, down slightly from 1.8 percent in October. Fayette's jobless rate was 1.9 percent in November of last year.

Unemployment in metro Atlanta is down from 3 percent to 2.8 percent, which Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond attributes to various industries hiring additional workers for the holiday season.

“Having low unemployment is great news for Atlanta area workers and for people who are seeking to enter the work force,” said Thurmond. “For employers, the news is not so good. The tight labor market is making it difficult to fill available positions and keep pace with a strong demand for goods and services.”

Thurmond added, however, that state and private sector forces are working to help employers ease that shortage.

“With the impending implementation of the Work Force Investment Act of 1998, we have important new tools designed to recruit, train and expand the pool of available skilled workers, and to match those workers with jobs that are now going unfilled,” he said.

Georgia's 3.4 percent unemployment rate in November tied the state's all-time monthly record low set in May 1971. The state's jobless rate in November was down from 3.7 percent in October and 3.8 percent in November 1998.

Labor market data are now available on the Georgia Department of Labor's web site at www.dol.state.ga.us.