KENNESAW, Ga. | Feb 10, 2016

Georgia's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for last month was 5.5 percent, according to the state's Department of Labor.

That's the lowest it's been in nearly seven years, and that downward trend is expected to continue.

"Both state-wide and in metro Atlanta, we are adding jobs faster than the national pace. State-wide, you know, we’ve been among the 12 fastest growing states fairly consistently over the last several years,” says Dr. Roger Tutterow, an economics professor at Kennesaw State University.

Year-over-year, Georgia added 91,000 jobs, with 77,000 of them in metro Atlanta, according to Tutterow.

“Alabama and Mississippi have been a little slower coming back in this recovery. But most Southeastern states are right-side up now, versus their employment prior to the recession. In Georgia’s case we surpassed that in 2014,” says Tutterow.

Among the sectors looking strong throughout the state: construction, education and professional and business services.

-WABE.org