ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Labor recently announced that metro Hinesville’s unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent in December, down 0.1 percent from 8.4 percent in November.
The rate was 9.1 percent in December 2012.
The rate dropped primarily because 73 more Hinesville residents were employed in December, mostly due to seasonal hiring in retail trade, transportation and warehousing.
The number of jobs in metro Hinesville declined by 100 to 19,500 in December. Most of the job loss was with the federal government.  
At the same time, the number of new layoffs, represented by initial claims for unemployment-insurance benefits, increased to 203, up by 27, or 15.3 percent, from 176 in November. Claims increased mostly in manufacturing and construction.
There were 241 claims in December 2012.
Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December was 7.4 percent, down from 7.6 percent in November. The rate was 8.7 percent in December a year ago. Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.2 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 10.2 percent.
Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.employgeorgia.com