Georgia adds 14,600 jobs in February

ATLANTA - The number of jobs in Georgia increased last month for the first time since October, but the unemployment rate remained the same at 4.4 percent, the Department of Labor said Thursday. <br> <br> Non-farm jobs rose 0.4 percent, from 3,836,400 in January to 3,851,000 in February. The gains came in manufacturing industries such as transportation equipment, textiles, industrial machinery and fabricated metals, as well as business services, temporary employment agencies, and health and educational services, the Labor Department said. <br> <br> The unemployment rate was the same as January&#39;s, but it was up from 3.7 percent in February 2001. <br> <br> ``The latest report on job growth is yet another piece of good economic news that we have received in the past two weeks,&#39;&#39; Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said. ``It follows a February decline in initial unemployment insurance claims. <br> <br> ``However, this news must be viewed against a backdrop of 180,000 jobless workers across the state,&#39;&#39; Thurmond said. <br> <br> Most of the job growth was in metro Atlanta, where 9,500 jobs were added. <br> <br> Although the report for February indicates the worst may be over, ``we have to be very cautious about going forward,&#39;&#39; said Rajeev Dhawan, director of economic forecasting at Georgia State University. <br> <br> For one thing, the report is based on seasonally unadjusted numbers, Dhawan said. <br> <br> Seasonally adjusted, the state added about 2,000 jobs last month. In the coming months, job growth will remain weak because companies are relying heavily on existing workers to do more work, Dhawan said. <br> <br> Job numbers in metropolitan areas in Georgia were: <br> <br> Albany, unchanged at 55,100. <br> <br> Athens, up 300, 0.4 percent., from 72,000 to 72,300. <br> <br> Atlanta, up 9,500, 0.4 percent, from 2,112,500 to 2,122,000. <br> <br> Augusta, down 400, 0.2 percent, from 198,500 to 198,100. <br> <br> Columbus, up 1,200, 1 percent, from 116,300 to 117,500. <br> <br> Macon, down 400, 0.3 percent, from 146,900 to 146,500. <br> <br> Savannah, down 200, 0.1 percent, from 135,900 to 135,700.