The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Middle Georgia region in June was 7.1 percent, up three-tenths of a percentage point from 6.8 percent in May. The rate in June 2014 was 8.3 percent.

The rate rose because the number of unemployed people increased by 643, as additional job seekers entered the labor force and are counted as unemployed while they search for work. 

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 353, or 18.7 percent, to 1,534 in June. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing, accommodations and food services, and health care and social assistance. Over the year, claims were up by 14, or 0.9 percent, from 1,520 filed in June 2014.     

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.3 percent, while 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. Georgia labor market data are available at www.gdol.ga.gov