Published: March 05, 2009 10:50 am      

Jobless rate tops 12 percent in Metro Dalton

The soaring area unemployment rate keeps climbing higher.

The jobless rate in Metro Dalton, which includes Murray and Whitfield counties, rose to a preliminary unadjusted rate of 12 percent in January, up 6.3 percent from 5.7 percent in January 2008, according to the state Department of Labor. The unemployment rate in metro Dalton climbed .6 percent from a revised 11.4 percent in December 2008.

From December 2008 to January, the two counties shed 1,600 jobs as the floorcovering industry continues to be battered by a weak housing market and the national recession. From January 2008 to January 2009, the number of jobs in the two counties fell from 76,100 to 70,300.

Read tomorrow's Daily Citizen for a full report.