The unemployment rate in Rockdale County fell under 7 percent for the month of March.

According to the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL), the unemployment rate for March was 6.8 percent, which is .2 percent lower than the rate was in February, with 39,209 people employed out of labor force of 42,076. The rate at this point a year ago was 8.2 percent. 

Newton County also experienced a slight dip in its unemployment rate for the month of March. The rate fell by .2 percent to 6.9 percent with 44,492 people reporting having jobs out of a labor force of 47,786. The rate during March 2014 was 8.6 percent. 

The entire metro-Atlanta area unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent in the month of March from 6.1 percent. The rate declined as employers created more jobs. The number of jobs in Atlanta increased by 1,900, or 0.1 percent, in March to 2,542,200 from 2,540,300 in February, according to the GDOL.

Hall County had the lowest rate at 4.9 percent for March, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7.8 percent.  

Georgia’s unemployment rate currently sits at 6.3 percent, which is a full percentage point less than it was a year ago.