The rate for May is 7.9 percent, which is down one-tenth of a percentage point from April.
Butler said the rate declined because 500 jobs were added in the Gainesville area, mostly in service-related industries. Plus, there were fewer layoffs in construction, manufacturing, and administrative and support services.
In the Georgia Mountains Region, the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.5 percent in May, up one-tenth of a percentage point from a revised 8.4 percent in April. The April rate was first reported at a preliminary 8.5 percent. The jobless rate in the Georgia Mountains area in May a year ago was 8.9 percent.
The rate rose because about 2,900 new job seekers entered the labor force looking for work and while about 2,600 found a job, about 300 of those did not.
The lowest area rate, at 7.2 percent, was recorded in metro Athens, while the highest, at 12 percent, was in the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region in the Dublin area.
Georgia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.8 percent from April to May. The April rate was first reported at a preliminary 9.9 percent, but was revised. The state's jobless rate was 10 percent in May a year ago.
May marked the 46th consecutive month Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9.1 percent, up from 9.0 percent in April.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/6/239791