Unemployment Rates Continue to Rise

The gas price is not the only number headed in the wrong direction. Unemployment rates nationwide, in Georgia and in the local area, continue to rise.

According to Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in metro Atlanta rose by eight-tenths of a percentage point in June to 10.5 percent, up from 9.7 percent in May and up from 10.3 percent in June last year.

“The increase was caused primarily by two seasonal factors,” Butler said in a press release. “There were layoffs among non-contract public school employees, such as bus drivers and janitorial workers, and an increase in the labor force, as students began looking for permanent or part-time jobs.”

The northeast Georgia area unemployment rate increased to 10.2 percent in June, up 1 percent from a revised 9.2 percent in May. This is also up from June last year when the unemployment rate in northeast Georgia was 9.8 percent.

Gwinnett County’s unemployment rate, at 9.4 percent, is lower than the Georgia average at 9.9 percent, but above the national average, which is currently 9.2 percent.

At 10.2 percent, unemployment rate is above the national and state unemployment rate, but still three-tenths of a percentage point down from the northeast Georgia average. Oconee County has the lowest unemployment rate in Georgia, which at 6.6 percent is also well below national and state averages.

Georgia’s unemployment rate, which is up one-tenth of a percentage point from last month, has now exceeded the national unemployment rate for 47 months straight. Atlanta had a net loss of 4,600 jobs in June, with additional layoffs in manufacturing, trade, administrative and support services, and health care and social assistance.

To help local residents seeking employment, the Georgia Department of Labor Center in Walton County will have its annual career expo in Loganville next week. It will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 4 at Corinth Christian Church on Highway 81. 

Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us