Northwest Georgia’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.6 percent in July

The unemployment rate in the Northwest Georgia region was unchanged at 5.6 percent from June to July. The rate in July 2015 was 6.4 percent.

While the rate was unchanged, the number of employed residents grew by 3,293 to 386,826. At the same time, the number of unemployed residents rose by 427 to 23,076. The labor force, which consists of employed people and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, grew by 3,720 to 409,902 in July.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 1,677, or 61.8 percent, to 4,390 in July. Most of the increase came in manufacturing and administrative and support services, which includes temporary staffing agencies. And, over the year, claims were up by 755, or 20.8 percent, from 3,635 in July 2015.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.6 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonallyadjusted unemployment rate for July was 5 percent, down from 5.1 percent in June. It was 5.7 percent in July 2015.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use the GDOL’s online job listing service, www.employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employees. In July, 2,796 new job openings in the Northwest Georgia region were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 69,064 new job openings were posted.