Unemployment rate down in metro Augusta but up in CSRA

Unemployment in metro Augusta is down, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

The rate dropped to 5.3 percent in March from 5.5 percent in February, a decline of two-tenths of a percent. But labor officials note that the unemployment rate was lower in March 2007, at 4.9 percent.

Metro Augusta's unemployment rate matches the state's, which remains unchanged since February.

Meanwhile, unemployment in the Central Savannah River Area, which encompasses a broader region that includes metro Augusta, is up one tenth of a percent, from 6.0 percent in February to 6.1 percent in March.