Unemployment Numbers up Slightly in December

The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Gainesville’s unemployment rate for December was 4.3 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from 4.2 percent in November. The rate in December 2014 was 5 percent.

The rate rose in December as jobs decreased by 200 and new layoffs, as measured by initial unemployment insurance claims, increased by 126.

The number of jobs decreased to 83,300, or 0.2 percent, from 83,500 in November. Most of the decrease came in local government.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 18.8 percent, to 798 in December. Most of the increase was due to temporary claims filed in manufacturing. However, over the year, claims were down by 210, or 20.8 percent, from 1,008 in December 2014.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.3 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha and the River Valley regions had the highest at 6.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for December was 5.5 percent, down from 5.6 percent in November. It was 6.6 percent in December 2014.