ATLANTA (AP) — State labor officials say metro Atlanta's unemployment rate has dropped below 6 percent.

The Georgia Department of Labor on Thursday announced the new March jobless rate of 5.9 percent. That was down from 6.1 percent in February and 7 percent from March 2014.

Georgia labor officials said in a statement that the rate declined as metro Atlanta employers created more jobs.

Elsewhere in Georgia, metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.9 percent.

The Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region -- a cluster of several counties in central Georgia -- had the highest at 7.8 percent.

The local area jobless rates are not seasonally adjusted.