Gwinnett, State Unemployment Rates Rise

The gas price is not the only number headed in the wrong direction. Unemployment rates nationwide, in Georgia and in the local area, continue to rise.

According to data from the Georgia Department of Labor, Gwinnett County’s unemployment rate in June was 9.4 percent. Although this is lower than Georgia's average of 9.9 percent, it is above the national average of 9.2 percent.

The current Gwinnett rate is seven-tenths higher than last month, when the revised unemployment rate was 8.7 percent. This time last year, the rate was 9.3 percent.

In metro Atlanta, according to Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in metro Atlanta rose to 10.5 percent, up from 9.7 percent in May and up from 10.3 percent in June last year.

“The increase was caused primarily by two seasonal factors,” Butler said in a press release. “There were layoffs among non-contract public school employees, such as bus drivers and janitorial workers, and an increase in the labor force, as students began looking for permanent or part-time jobs.”

Overall, there was a net loss of 4,600 jobs in the metro Atlanta, which includes Gwinnett County. There were additional layoffs in manufacturing, trade, administrative and support services, and health care and social assistance.

Georgia’s unemployment rate, which is up one-tenth of a percentage point from last month, has now exceeded the national unemployment rate for 47 months straight.

To help local residents seeking employment, the Georgia Department of Labor's Gwinnett Career Center hosted a job fair today in Dacula. Another career, closer to Snellville, will be held in Loganville next week. It will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 4 at Corinth Christian Church on Highway 81.

Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us