ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that the preliminary unemployment rate in the metro Hinesville area rose to 8.9 percent in December.
That’s up 0.4 percent from 8.5 percent in November. The rate was 9.1 percent in December 2011.
The rate rose because of an increase in the labor force, while the number of jobs in the area was unchanged at 19,800. The number of unemployed people rose by 155 to 2,986, up from 2,831 in November.  
The labor force, those employed or actively seeking a job, rose by 139 to 33,491, up from 33,352 in November.
There were 33,343 in the labor force in December 2011.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.6 percent in December, up 0.1 percent from November. The rate was 9.4 percent in December a year ago.
Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.6 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 11.4 percent.
Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us.