ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday morning that the unemployment rate in the Northeast Georgia region in June was 6.2 percent, up three-tenths of a percentage point from 5.9 percent in May. The rate in June 2014 was 7.4 percent.
The rate rose as the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance increased by 134, or 9.3 percent, to 1,580 in June. Most of the increase came in manufacturing, administrative and support services, and health care and social assistance. Over the year, claims were down by 146, or 8.5 percent, from 1,726 filed in June 2014.
Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.3 percent. Last month, the jobless rate in Gainesville was 5.1 percent. Labor officials said the number of jobs in Gainesville decreased by 200, or 0.2 percent, in June to 82,800. Most of the job losses came in state government and the private, service-related industries, which includes repair and maintenance and personal and laundry services. Also, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 23, or 5.9 percent, to 415 in June.
The Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 8.2 percent.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for June was 6.1 percent, down from 6.3 percent in May. It was 7.3 percent in June 2014.
Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted.
