The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that Metro Hinesville’s unemployment rate for June was 6.6 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from 6.5 percent in May. The rate in June 2014 was 8.3 percent.

The rate for Metro Hinesville, which is defined as Liberty and Long counties, rose as the number of new layoffs, as measured by unemployment insurance claims, increased by 36, or 27.9 percent, to 165 in June. Most of the increase came in health care, social assistance and educational services, along with retail trade and accommodations and food services. Over the year, claims were down by seven, or 4.4 percent, from 158 filed in June 2014.     

While the number of jobs in Hinesville was unchanged at 20,000 from May to June, it increased by 800, or 4.2 percent, from 19,200 in June 2014. The job gains came with the federal government; the private, service-related industries; and the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction.  

In the Coastal Georgia region, which includes Liberty and Long counties, the June unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, up 0.4 percentage point from 6 percent in May but down from 7.9 percent in June 2014.

Metro Gainesville had the state’s lowest area jobless rate at 5.3 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 8.2 percent.  

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June was 6.1 percent, down from 6.3 percent in May. It was 7.3 percent in June 2014.