Illustrated city skyline with a downward-trending line graph and small pedestrians in the foreground — North Atlanta unemployment rates moved higher in August even as more residents were working and the labor force grew.

Employment increased across Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett counties in August, but the local unemployment rate also rose as more residents entered or returned to the labor force.

The three counties added an estimated 1,875 employed residents from July to August. Their combined labor force grew by 3,762 people, however, leaving 1,887 more residents counted as unemployed.

That pushed unemployment from 2.6% to 2.8% in Forsyth, 3.4% to 3.5% in Fulton and 3% to 3.2% in Gwinnett, based on the Georgia Department of Labor’s August labor-force estimates. The county figures are preliminary and not seasonally adjusted.

County	August 2026	July 2026	August 2025	Employed residents
Forsyth	2.8%	2.6%	2.9%	146,282
Fulton	3.5%	3.4%	3.7%	585,009
Gwinnett	3.2%	3.0%	3.4%	511,593

The monthly increase does not mean employment contracted. It reflects a labor force that expanded faster than employment, which can happen when recent graduates, returning workers or other job seekers begin actively looking for work.

The longer-term comparison remains favorable. The three counties had 21,758 more employed residents than in August 2025, while their unemployment rates were lower than a year earlier.

Rates increased from July in Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Roswell, Duluth, Peachtree Corners and Sugar Hill. Milton remained at 2.6%. Most of those communities still posted lower rates than a year earlier. Roswell was unchanged at 2.9%, while Duluth edged above its August 2025 rate, moving from 3.1% to 3.2%.

Georgia’s seasonally adjusted rate moved in the opposite direction, falling from 3.3% to 3.2%. Statewide employment reached a record 5.31 million, while the labor force reached 5.49 million. The state added 8,000 payroll jobs during August, although total jobs remained 7,300 below the previous year.

For North Atlanta workers, the local figures point to a competitive but still relatively tight market. More residents are working than a year ago, yet the growing number of active job seekers may lengthen searches in fields where hiring has slowed. Employers, meanwhile, have access to a larger pool of available applicants without the broad job losses that usually accompany a sharp labor-market downturn.