Georgia jobless rate posts largest monthly decline since 1976

ATLANTA (AP) State officials say Georgia's unemployment rate has dropped to 7.2 percent. <br /> <br /> The Georgia Department of Labor on Thursday announced the new figure, which is the seasonally adjusted jobless rate for November. <br /> <br /> State officials say the new rate represents what they call a significant drop. <br /> <br /> State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said it's the largest monthly rate decline seen in Georgia since 1976. <br /> <br /> Georgia's unemployment rate remains above the national rate, which remained unchanged at 5.8 percent in November. <br /> <br /> Butler said in a statement that Georgia employers added 23,400 new jobs in November for a total of about 4.17 million. <br /> <br /> Labor officials said most of the job growth came in trade, transportation and warehousing, areas where 16,000 jobs were created primarily because of holiday hiring.