Cobb, Georgia Jobless Rates Increase

The jobless rate in Georgia has jumped 3 tenths of a percentage point to 9.3 percent from June to July, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

The culprit: a large number of temporary manufacturing sector layoffs, State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a news release. But many of those workers have already returned to work, he added.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance jumped by more than 15 percent from June, but are still 8.2 percent below the number of claims from this time last year.

In Cobb County, there was a 4.5 percent increase in first-time unemployment claims. There were 2,515 first-time claims in July, up from 2,406 in June. This number is still below the 2,816 first-time claims in July 2011. Additionally, countywide first-time claims have dropped 10.7 this year.

The labor force grew for the 14th time in 15 months, but the number of available jobs decreased because of the end of seasonal and temporary work in the state. There are still some 50,000 more jobs than were reported at this time in 2011.

The long-term unemployed, who have been out of work for more than 26 weeks and make up 51 percent of all unemployed in the state, dropped by 4,700 from June to July. There has been a 10.2 decline in long-term unemployment from July 2011 to July 2012.

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