The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Northwest Georgia region increased to 7.7 percent in June, up four-tenths of a percentage point from 7.3 percent in May. The rate was 8.9 percent in June a year ago.
The rate increased because of seasonal factors, such as the summer job loss among non-contract school workers and a rise in the labor force as graduates and students entered the job market. The labor force grew by 890, up to 406,083 from 405,193 in May.
Also, there were 2,959 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in June, an increase of 260, or 9.6 percent, from 2,699 in May.
Most of the increase in claims came in administrative and support services, along with transportation and warehousing. There were 3,553 claims filed in June 2013.
Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.3 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 10.4 percent.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for June was 7.4 percent, up from 7.2 percent in May. The rate was 8.4 percent in May a year ago.
Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.gdol.ga.gov