A press release from the Georgia Department of Labor says: 

The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the preliminary unemployment rate in the metro Athens area rose to 6.6 percent in December, up four-tenths of a percentage point from 6.2 percent in November. The rate was 7.0 percent in December 2011.

The rate rose because of a loss of jobs and more people were unemployed. The number of people unemployed rose by 367 to 7,342, up from 6,975 in November.

The number of jobs declined by 1,800 to 85,800 in December, from 87,600 in November. The monthly loss was mostly in the service-related industries, along with state and local government. There were 84,400 jobs in December 2011.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.6 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 11.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.6 percent in December, up one-tenth of a percentage point from 8.5 percent in November. The rate was 9.4 percent in December a year ago.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us

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