Staff Reports
The Daily Citizen
ATLANTA — The preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in metro Dalton (Murray and Whitfield counties) rose to 13.1 percent in January, up .6 percent from a revised 12.5 percent in December 2009, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.
Meanwhile the number of unemployed workers in the area increased to 8,178, up 350 from 7,828 in December 2009.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 10.4 percent in January, topping the previous record high of 10.3 percent reported in December 2009. This marks the 28th consecutive month that Georgia has exceeded the national seasonally adjusted rate, which was 9.7 percent.
The state’s January jobless rate was up 2 percent from 8.4 percent at this same time last year. The jobless rate in metro Dalton in January 2009 was 11.9 percent.
Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us.
