Metro Albany, Southwest Georgia jobless rates up in June
Labor officials say seasonal job losses contributed to unemployment numbers
From Staff Reports
ALBANY — Both the five-county metro Albany area and the Southwest Georgia region saw higher unemployment in June, state labor officials say.
For metro Albany — Dougherty, Lee, Worth, Baker and Terrell counties — the jobless rate was up sharply, reaching 6.6 percent compared to May’s 5.6 percent. Compared to June 2015, however, the rate was down a percent from last year’s 7.5 percent.
Officials with the Georgia Labor Department said much of the decline in the Albany MSA was attributable to temporary seasonal losses that come when schools close for the summer. The number of jobs in metro Albany also dropped 1 percent from May to June, ending up at 61,900, a decrease of 600 jobs.
Meanwhile, the labor force rose by 642 people to reach 66,836, with students and others entering the job market, while the number of employed dropped by 45 from May to June.
Still, metro Albany saw a 2.3 percent increase in jobs last month compared to June 2015, adding 1,400 to the 60,500 that were counted a year ago. Most of the job gains, labor officials say, came in the service industries, such as trade, transportation and warehousing, along with the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction. Local government also added jobs.
The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 247, or 28.9 percent, to 608 in June. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. And, over the year, claims were down by 45, or 6.9 percent, from 653 in June 2015.
The Southwest Georgia region as a whole fared a little better, coming in with a 6.4 percent jobless rate that was nearly a point up from May’s 5.5 percent. It was eight-tenths of a point better than June 2015’s 7.2 percent unemployment rate.
The region’s labor force increased by 1,731, to 149,284, from May to June. With the number of employed workers rising by 240, the number of unemployed increased by a net 1,491.
The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 261, or 19.6 percent, to 1,070 in June. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. And, over the year, claims were down by 130, or 10.8 percent, from 1,200 in June 2015.
Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for June was 5.1 percent, down from 5.3 percent in May. It was 5.8 percent in June 2015.
Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate for June at 4.7 percent, while the Heart of Georgia/Altamaha region had the highest at 6.9 percent.
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