Sandy Springs' unemployment rate fell to 2.6% in September, down from 2.7% in August, according to Georgia Department of Labor estimates reported by the North Atlanta Star.
Only Brookhaven posted a lower rate among seven North Atlanta cities tracked.
The year-over-year picture is mixed. Sandy Springs stood at 2.5% in September 2025. The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) data shows all seven cities had more employed residents than a year earlier.
How neighbors compare
September rates ranged from 2.5% in Brookhaven to 3.3% in Johns Creek. Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and Brookhaven all saw monthly declines. Rates edged higher in Alpharetta, Milton, Roswell and Johns Creek.
City | Sept. 2026 | Aug. 2026 | Sept. 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
Brookhaven | 2.5% | 2.6% | 2.6% |
Sandy Springs | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.5% |
Dunwoody | 2.7% | 2.9% | 2.8% |
Alpharetta | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.9% |
Milton | 2.9% | 2.6% | 2.7% |
Roswell | 3.0% | 2.9% | 2.7% |
Johns Creek | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.1% |
Metro and national context
The broader Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area posted a 3.5% unemployment rate in September, up from 3.4% in both August and September 2025, the North Atlanta Star reported. About 118,343 metro residents were unemployed, compared with 112,102 a year earlier.
The national rate was 4.2% in September, according to USAFacts. Sandy Springs' 2.6% was lower than both the metro and national figures.
Sector shifts across the metro
Across the full metro area, health care and social assistance added 15,000 jobs over the year. Professional, scientific and technical services lost 7,600. Construction shed 3,600 and finance and insurance lost 2,100.
Those figures cover the entire metropolitan statistical area. They cannot be broken out for Sandy Springs or any other individual city.
What the numbers don't show
September figures are preliminary. Earlier months are revised. The rates are not seasonally adjusted, and small monthly changes can reflect seasonal patterns rather than a lasting hiring trend.
The GDOL data counts residents by where they live, not where they work. The numbers do not measure pay, available hours or whether workers found jobs matching their experience.
