State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said yesterday that the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in the Northwest Georgia area decreased to 10.2 percent in March, down four-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 10.6 percent in February. The jobless rate in the Northwest Georgia area in March a year ago was 10.8 percent.

“The unemployment rate decreased in the Northwest Georgia area, as well as in all of the state’s other 24 local areas,” said Butler. “This is encouraging, and hopefully indicates that a modest recovery may be building throughout the state.”

The lowest rate, at 7.3 percent was in metro Athens, while the highest rate, at 11.7 percent, was in the Heart of Georgia – Altamaha region around Dublin.

Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March was 10.0 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point, from a revised 10.2 percent in February. The state’s jobless rate was also 10.2 percent in March 2010.

March marked the 42nd consecutive month that Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 8.8 percent.

Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us