While the jobs picture certainly isn’t rosy, it improved slightly last month for Fayette and Coweta counties, according to statistics published this week by the Georgia Department of Labor.

Coweta’s unemployment rate dropped from 10.4 percent in October to 9.9 percent in November while Fayette’s unemployment rate dropped from 8.5 to 8 percent.

In raw numbers, the data showed that in Coweta the total number of employed persons jumped by 284 and in Fayette the increase was 250 jobs, according to the state’s data.

It is not a surprise that the economic crisis has touched Coweta and Fayette counties, but the extent is somewhat remarkable. Comparing November 2009’s figures to November 2008, Coweta has lost 1,942 from the ranks of the employed, compared to 988 such people in Fayette.

Statewide the outlook improved slightly with unemployment at 9.9 percent in November, down from 10.1 percent the previous month.

Fayette has by far the lowest unemployment rate in the metro Atlanta area with 8.0 percent compared to 9.1 in Cobb, 10.1 in Henry, 14.6 in Spalding, 10.2 in Fulton and DeKalb, 9.0 in Cherokee and Gwinnett, 12.2 in Clayton and 11.7 in Rockdale.

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