Jobless rate in metro Dalton rises to 13 percent

photo John Gooch files for unemployment at the Georgia Department of Labor office in Dalton, Ga.

Unemployment in the Dalton area rose again in January to 13 percent -- the highest jobless rate among Georgia's 14 metro areas.

The Georgia Department of Labor said today that layoffs in manufacturing and administrative and support services at the start of 2011 cut a net 337 jobs in metro Dalton, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties. January's jobless rate in Dalton was up six-tenths of a percent from December and, despite a nationwide drop in unemployment over the past year, was two-tenths of a percent higher than a year ago.

Statewide, Georgia's comparable non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January was 10.5 percent in January, once again hitting the state's all-time high. January marked the 40th consecutive month that Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9 percent.

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