Georgia DOL: Unemployment ticks up in June

♦ The increase is not unusual for the month.

Unemployment in Rome went up half a point in June to 4.1%. A year ago, the June rate was 4.7%.

It is not unusual to see unemployment make a spike up in June. Typically, more people enter the workforce as high school or college graduates finish their studies. Similarly, education-related employees not on an annual contract are generally able to file for benefits during the summer months.

In Rome and Floyd County, the labor force increased in June by 393. The total was 44,684. That number is up by 399 from the total from June 2018.

The good news from the Georgia Department of Labor is that Floyd County based businesses reported 42,600 payroll jobs in June. That’s a increase of 400 jobs over the month and an increase of 1,200 jobs when compared to the same time a year ago.

The June trend was pretty much the same across the entire region. In Bartow County, the June rate was 3.6%, up from 3.3 in May. Chattooga County registered a half point increase from 3.5% in May to an even 4% in June. Gordon County was also up half a point from 3.2% to 3.7%, Polk was up from 3.7% to 4%, Walker County was up from 3.2% to 3.7% and Whitfield County was up from 3.7% to 4.2%.

The jobless rate for the entire 15-county Northwest Georgia region in June was 3.7%, up from 3.3% in May, but down from 4.3% in June of 2018. Across the region, including Dade, Catoosa, Walker, Whitfield, Murray, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Gordon, Chattooga, Floyd, Bartow, Polk, Paulding and Haralson counties, more than 405,300 residents were on a job, however another 15,767 were looking for employment.