Georgia’s unemployment rate rose to 7.4 percent in June from 7.2 percent in May, primarily because of summer layoffs of school employees, the state labor department said Thursday.
The total number of jobs in June dropped by 18,000 from 4,126,100 in May. Virtually all of the loss came in public and private education, along with social assistance, which includes pre-school and daycare centers. For the past three years, the state has lost an average of 18,000 seasonal jobs from May to June.
There were 37,917 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in June, an increase 14.2 percent from May. In addition to layoffs of school workers, there were 3,376 new claims in manufacturing, some caused by temporary layoffs.
On the positive side, the labor force has increased for the six month in row. The total for those working and looking for work increased by 2,007 to reach 4,782,425 in June.
“Georgia employers have created 81,100 jobs since last June, which is the largest June-to-June job growth since 2006,” state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement. That helped drive down the jobless rate from 8.4 percent a year ago.
Still, Georgia continues to significantly trail the recovery nationally. In June, the U.S. unemployment rate was 6.1 percent.
There were 4,108,100 jobs in Georgia in June, up 2 percent from June 2013. The gains came in professional and business services — 27,100 new jobs; trade, transportation and warehousing — 20,400; leisure and hospitality — 18,600; manufacturing — 6,900; construction — 6,400; education and health services — 4,000; information services — 1,900; and financial services — 1,700.
Government, meanwhile, lost 5,700 jobs.
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