Jobless claims go up slightly in June
Jobs based in Rome and Floyd County increase 600 over the year.
First time claims for unemployment benefits jumped sharply in Rome and Floyd County in June. New data from the Georgia Department of Labor reports that 292 Floyd County residents filed a first time claim for jobless benefits in June, up from 251 in May and up from 253 in June a year ago.
Across the entire 15-county Northwest Georgia region which includes Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Murray, Walker and Whitfield counties, the number of new claims was down 6.7 percent from June of last year.
The claims data reflects the number of Floyd County residents who lost their jobs but does not necessarily indicate the loss of jobs inside Floyd County. In fact, the Department of Labor also issued a report indicating that 41,600 jobs were linked to payrolls reported by businesses with a Floyd County address in June. That was unchanged from May and up 600 jobs from June of a year ago
Rome Floyd Chamber Economic Development Director Heather Seckman said Balta brought in 75 new jobs when they opened a new distribution center and several companies have been hiring equipment operators and machinists on a consistent basis.
Statewide, the June unemployment rate dipped to 4.1 percent, down from 4.7 percent in June of 2017. The state added 77,300 from June of last year, most of them in professional business services, trade, transportation and utilities. A press release from the state indicates Georgia has added more than 10,000 jobs in each of trade, transportation and utilities; education and health services; construction; and leisure and hospitality sectors.
County-by-county unemployment rates will be released for June next week. The May unemployment rate for Rome and Floyd County was 3.6 percent. That’s down dramatically from 12.8 percent at the height of the recession in August 2011.