Local, Metro Atlanta See Rise in Jobless Rate

The unemployment rate rose for the second straight month in metro Atlanta, rising four-tenths of a point in June, according to labor force estimates released by the Georgia Department of Labor.

The June jobless rate was 7.6 percent, up from 7.2 in May. The metro rate in April was 6.5. The rate in June 2013 was 8.6 percent.

Rates in Gwinnett and Walton counties also rose last month.

Preliminary figures in Gwinnett County showed an increase in the jobless rate from 6.5 in May to 6.8 in June.

The Gwinnett labor force increased from 444,321 to 445,158, while the number of unemployed workers grew from 28,702 to 30,339. The number of employed workers in the county fell from 415,619 to 414,819.

In Walton, the rate increased from 6.6 to 6.9. The work force grew from 40,443 to 40,525, the number of unemployed rose from 2,661 to 2,816, and the employed fell from 37,782 to 37,709.

Seasonal factors accounted for much of the increase — summer job loss by non-contract school workers, temporary layoffs in manufacturing and an increased job force with the addition of graduates and students entering the job market.

The number of jobs in metro Atlanta fell 4,000 month-to-month to 2,460,900 in June, the labor department said, but that was still a 2.4 percent increase since June 2013.

Additionally, there was a 13.4 percent increase in new claims for unemployment insurance from May to June.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate in Georgia at 6.3 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 10.4 percent.

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Note: Local area unemployment data is not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.employgeorgia.com