Metro Atlanta Unemployment Rate Increases

A week after Georgia’s unemployment rate ticked back up, new numbers show the same thing is happening in Metro Atlanta.

The State Labor Department put the August jobless rate at 10.4 percent for Metro Atlanta. That is up one-tenth of a percentage point from July and equal to the unemployment rate in August 2010.

State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler blames the increase to layoffs in construction, trade, administrative and support services, and accommodation and food services.

Earlier this month, officials announced that statewide, Georgia's seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 10.2 percent in August, the highest level in the past six months. That is the 49th consecutive month Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9.1 percent.

Across the state, the areas with the best hiring appear to be Athens and Warner Robins. They have the lowest unemployment rates at 7.8 percent. The highest is 12.7 percent near Dublin. The jobless rate in a half-dozen metro areas Albany, Atlanta, Brunswick, Dalton, Macon and Rome were above 10 percent.  113 of Georgia's 159 counties had a jobless rate of 10 percent or higher.