The preliminary unemployment rate in metro Gainesville declined to 6.9 percent in April to its lowest level since November 2008 when it was 6.6 percent, the state Labor Department announced today. The rate was 7.2 percent in March and 7.8 percent in April 2011. The rate decreased as the number of new jobs grew by 500 to 78,300, the highest number of jobs in metro Gainesville since September 2008, when 78,300 was also recorded.