(The Center Square) – June unemployment rates increased for all of Georgia’s regional commissions, but it is normal for this time of year, according to the Department of Labor.
Most regional commissions experienced an increase of five-tenths of a percentage point, according to statistics released by the department on Thursday. The highest increase was in the Heart of Georgia region, which includes Appling, Bleckley, Candler, Dodge, Emanuel, Evans, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Wayne, Wheeler, and Wilcox counties. The rate increased by seven-tenths of a percentage point to 4.1% for June, the department said. The number of unemployment claims increased by 36 from May.
The Atlanta Regional Commission, which has the largest labor force of any region, had the lowest increase, up three-tenths of a percentage point to 3.5%. The region includes Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale counties. First-time claims increased by 1,482 from May.
The highest unemployment rate was in the River Valley region at 4.2%. River Valley includes Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Harris, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, and Webster counties.
Two regional commissions had the lowest unemployment rates at 3.3%: Coastal Georgia consists of Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, and Screven counties and the Georgia Mountains, which includes Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White counties.
“June brings the temporary seasonal changes we see every year as schools let out for the summer, but as Georgia’s workforce continues to grow, our year-over-year trends remain stable,” said Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes. “Short-term fluctuations are normal in a resilient economy, and the bigger picture is clear: Georgia remains a state where opportunity is within reach, hard work is rewarded, and every Georgian has the chance to build a better life.”
The state’s labor force is breaking records and reached an all-time high in June, the department said in a June 16 release.
Nearly 5.5 million workers were in the labor pool, an increase of 7,179, a record number of workers, according to the department. The labor force set new records for the past six months and increased by 69,446 over the year.
The number of jobs was down 10,100 over the month, but up 6,000 over the year.
The state’s unemployment rate for June is 3.4%, slightly below the national rate of 4.2% reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.