The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Middle Georgia region in October was 6.6 percent, up two-tenths of a percentage point from 6.4 percent in September. The rate in October 2014 was 7.5 percent.

The rate rose as the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance increased by 957, or 69.4 percent, to 2,336 in October. Most of the increase was due to temporary layoffs in manufacturing. Over the year, claims were up by 472, or 25.3 percent, from 1,864 in October 2014.     

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.7 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for October was 5.7 percent, down from 5.8 percent in September. It was 6.8 percent in October 2014.