The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Middle Georgia region in February was 6.1 percent, up two-tenths of a percentage point from 5.9 percent in January. The rate in February 2015 was 6.8 percent.

The rate rose because the number of unemployed residents increased by 442, as the labor force grew by 596. 

At the same time, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined in the region by 1,545, or 59.4 percent, to 1,058 in February. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing and construction, administrative and support services, retail trade and accommodations and food services. Also, over the year, claims were down by 504, or 32.3 percent, from 1,562 in February 2015.      

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.6 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha and River Valley regions had the highest at 7.1 percent.  

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for February was 5.4 percent, unchanged from January. It was 6.2 percent in February 2015.