Unemployment rose for the third consecutive month in Georgia during July, boosting the state’s jobless rate to the highest level since last October and 1.6 percentage points higher than the U.S. rate.
The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the state’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose by four tenths of a percent last month to 7.8 percent. The rate in July of last year was 8.3 percent.
“The July rate increase is primarily due to temporary seasonal layoffs in local government and manufacturing,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said. “Most of those individuals have already gone back to work.”
In July, Georgia employment fell by 12,800 jobs from the previous month, with the bulk of the loss in local government educational services.
The rising and above-average unemployment rate across the Peach State may have discouraged some workers from trying to get a job. For the time this year, Georgia’s labor force declined during July. Georgia’s workforce dropped by 4,824 workers last month.