Unemployment Rate Reaches a New, 8-Year Low

Unemployment rates in the United States and in Athens has reached a new low. Reporter Ryan Sander has the digital update for you.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the U.S’ current unemployment rate is 4.9%. That means out of 100 Americans, 4.9 of them are without a job. There’s good news though. 4.9 is the lowest national unemployment rate since February of 2008. Along with the national rate, Georgia is at 5.4%, and the Athens area is below the national rate at 4.8%.

To give you an idea on how long it has been since unemployment was this low..

• the Hannah Montana movie was the highest grossing movie in theaters
• Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were the two most searched people on Google
  • Which makes sense, since the two were in a very close race for the Democratic Presidential Primary
• Mitt Romney ended his first run at the presidency
• And Low by Flor-rida featuring T-Pain was the number one hit on Top 100 Billboard charts

US unemployment rate is projected to go up at the end of this quarter, but only by .2%.