Jobless rate up in Georgia last month

Unemployment in Georgia rose last month to the highest level in two and a half years, the Georgia Department of Labor said today.

Georgia’s jobless rate in February was 5.3 percent, up two-tenths from January and a full 1 percent higher than a year ago. Unemployment in Georgia exceeded the U.S. average in February as the share of workers without jobs rose to the highest level in the state since September 2005, labor department spokesman Sam Hall said.

However, from January to February, preliminary data show Georgia gained 16,500 payroll jobs, including a net gain of 600 jobs in metropolitan Dalton. But the number of unemployed persons also increased by 7,086 in February, state data show.