Local Unemployment Rates Drop Slightly in November

The unemployment rate in the Georgia Mountains region was 5.5 percent in November, down from 6.0 percent in October.

According to the Georgia Department of Labor, the rate fell as the number of unemployed people living in the region decreased to 17,141 in November,from 18,581 in October.

However, there were 1,545 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in November, an increase of 3.4 percent, from October.

Most of the increase in claims came in manufacturing and construction and administrative and support services.

In Franklin County, the unemployment rate in November was 7.2% – down from 7.4% in October. Franklin County’s total labor force in November stood at 9,758 – of that 700 workers were collecting unemployment benefits.

Hart County’s unemployment rate in November was 7.8% – down from 8.4% in October.  Hart County’s total labor force in November is listed as 9,723 – of that 768 workers were out of a job.

Meantime, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for November was 7.2 percent, down from a revised 7.6 percent in October, according to State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.  And according to Butler, Georgia continues to be a national leader in job growth,

Georgia has added 98,800 jobs since November of last year, up from 4,093,800, a 2.4 percent growth rate.

This was the largest over-the-year job growth since November 2005 when 108,900 jobs were created. Private industry accounted for 96 percent of the growth with 95,000 new jobs.