Georgia’s jobless rate falls slightly to 8.7 percent in August | www.ajc.com

Georgia’s unemployment rate, which had been rising for three straight months, dropped to 8.7 percent in August from 8.8 percent in July, the state labor department said Thursday.

“The primary reason the rate dropped is that we had a significant reduction in layoffs, in fact, the fewest since September 2007,” state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement. “Also, we had a small increase in the number of jobs.”

The state’s jobless rate continues to signifcantly trail the national rate, currently 7.3 percent.

There were 35,503 new layoffs statewide in August — 34.4 percent fewer than in July. Much of the decline came in manufacturing, as workers who were temporarily laid off in July returned to work in August. There also were fewer layoffs in construction, trade, and administrative and support services.

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