Published: July 24, 2008 12:21 pm            

Metro Dalton’s unemployment rate unchanged in June, up over the year

ATLANTA — The unemployment rate in the metro Dalton area (Murray and Whitfield counties) was unchanged at 6.5 percent from May to June, but was up 1.9 percent from 4.6 percent in June of 2007, the state Department of Labor reported.

The unemployment rate in the North Georgia area (Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield counties) rose to a preliminary 6.2 percent in June, up one-tenth of one percent from a revised 6.1 percent in May, according to the DOL.

Preliminary unadjusted data from May to June show Georgia lost 21,900 payroll jobs, a decrease of one-half of one percent. The job losses came across-the-board in manufacturing, construction, trade and services, the DOL reported. In metro Dalton, the number of jobs was unchanged at 78,000.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.7 percent from May to June, but it was up 1.3 percent from 4.4 percent in June of 2007. The current adjusted state rate, which is two-tenths of one percent higher than the U.S. seasonally-adjusted rate of 5.5 percent, continued to top the national rate for the past five months.

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

        

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