The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region in December was 6.6 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from 6.8 percent in November. The rate in December 2014 was 8.3 percent.
At 6.6 percent, Heart of Georgia-Altamaha’s rate is at its lowest point since April 2008 when it was 5.8 percent.
The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 800, or 26.2 percent, to 2,256 in December. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. And, over the year, claims were down by 1,645, or 42.2 percent, from 3,901 in December 2014.
Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.3 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha and River Valley regions had the highest at 6.6 percent.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for December was 5.5 percent, down from 5.6 percent in November. It was 6.6 percent in December 2014.
