The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that Metro Gainesville’s unemployment rate for April was 4.2 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from 4.5 percent in March. The rate in April 2015 was 4.6 percent.

The Metro Gainesville statistical area includes all of Hall County.

The rate declined as employers created more jobs and laid off fewer workers.

The number of jobs increased by 500, or 0.6 percent, to 86,200 in April.  Most of the increase came in retail trade and the federal government.

Over the year, Gainesville gained 3,500 jobs, a 4.2 percent growth rate, up from 82,700 in April 2015. Most of the job gains came in the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction, along with the service industries such as trade, transportation and warehousing.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 134, or 16.7 percent, to 668 in April. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. However, over the year, claims were up by 352, or 111.4 percent, from 316 in April 2015.

Also, Gainesville’s labor force decreased by 525 to 94,085.          

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate in the state at 4.2 percent, while the River Valley region had the highest at 6.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for April was 5.5 percent, unchanged from March. It was 6.1 percent in April 2015.