The fifteen-county Northwest Georgia area saw an increase in unemployment during the month of June.

According to numbers released last Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor, region-wide, the unemployment rate increased 5/10th’s of a percentage point to 3.1 percent.  New claims for unemployment benefits in the Northwest Georgia area rose 75 percent over the month.

Chattooga County’s unemployment rate went up 6/10th’s of a percentage point to 4 percent for June.

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that all Regional Commissions recorded a rise in unemployment rates in June.