ATLANTA – State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in the Coastal Georgia area increased to 8.9 percent in May, up one-tenth of a percentage point from a revised 8.8 percent in April. The jobless rate in the Coastal Georgia area in May a year ago was also 8.8 percent.
The rate rose because about 3,500 new job seekers entered the labor force looking for work and while more than 2,700 found a job, almost 700 of those did not.
The lowest area rate, at 7.2 percent, was recorded in metro Athens, while the highest, at 12 percent, was in the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region in the Dublin area.
Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.8 percent from April to May. The April rate was first reported at a preliminary 9.9 percent, but was revised. The state’s jobless rate was 10 percent in May a year ago.
May marked the 46th consecutive month Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9.1 percent, up from 9.0 percent in April.
Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us