The unemployment numbers keep getting better for metro Atlanta.

The State Labor Department says the area’s jobless rate dropped to 8.5 percent last month. That’s the lowest mark since December 2008 when the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent.

Metro Atlanta’s jobless numbers fell from 8.7 percent in March and 9.3 percent last April.

State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler told News/Talk WSB in a statement metro Atlanta also has the highest number of jobs since November 2011. In the last month, 14,800 jobs were added to bring the total to 2,331,100.

Metro Athens still has the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 6.5 percent, while metro Dalton had the highest at 11.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined for the ninth consecutive month in April to 8.9 percent. That’s the first time in more than three years the rate has dropped below nine percent.