The unemployment rate for Polk County checked in at 5.5% in June which was up slightly from 5.3% in May but down from 6.3% from 12 months earlier.
Polk is tied with Floyd County for the second highest unemployment rate in Northwest Georgia, while Murray County had the highest unemployment rate at 5.8%.
Here is a look at the unemployment picture for the region:
Floyd: 5.5% in June vs. 5.1% the previous month but down from 6.3% in June of last year.
Bartow: 4.9%, up from 4.5% in May but down from 5.4% a year earlier.
Gordon: 5.2% in June, up from 4.8% in May but down from 6.1% in the previous June.
Chattooga: 5.1% last month, up from 4.8% in May but down from 6.1% in June 2016.
MEDIA RELEASE
The Georgia Department of Labor on Thursday announced that the unemployment rate in Northwest Georgia in June was 5 percent, up three-tenths of a percentage point from 4.7 percent in May. In June 2016, the rate was 5.6 percent
The rate rose as the number of unemployed residents increased and the labor force grew. The number of unemployed increased by 1,541 to 20,933. There were 1,975 fewer unemployed than in June 2016.
The labor force increased, partially because high school and college students entered the job market. From May to June, the labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed and actively looking for jobs, increased by 2,265 to 417,019. Compared to June a year ago, the labor force had a net increase of 11,183.
Although the rate rose, there were still 724 more Northwest Georgia area residents employed in June than in May, pushing the total number to 396,086. The increase in the number of employed residents in June grew by 13,158 from June 2016.
The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, decreased by 366, or 16.8 percent, to 1,819. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. Over the year, claims were down by 894, or 33 percent, from 2,713 in June 2016.
Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for June was 4.8 percent, down from 4.9 percent in May. It was 5.3 percent in June 2016.