Unemployment Rate Drops

The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Georgia Mountains region decreased to 7.0 percent in August, down eight-tenths of a percentage point from 7.8 percent in July. The rate was 7.9 percent in August a year ago.

The rate dropped because there was a significant reduction in layoffs. There were 1,909 new layoffs, which is 30.9 percent, fewer than the 2,763 in July. Much of the decline came in manufacturing, with additional reductions in administrative and support services.

Rabun County’s Unemployment rate followed suit going down from 11.4% in July to 10.6% in August.