Area unemployment was up slightly in December, according to the latest from the Georgia Department of Labor released on Thursday.

Chattooga County’s unemployment rate went up 3/10ths of a percentage point for the month of December, 2021 to 2.9% – still an extremely low rate.

Other area counties also saw a slight uptick in unemployment rates, but the Georgia Department of Labor says that there are still plenty of jobs available for workers.  In fact, the biggest factor facing the state right now is a shortage of workers for available jobs.

“Job numbers are up across Georgia, and our focus in 2022 is encouraging people to enter the workforce to help businesses provide the goods and services necessary for Georgia’s economy to continue to grow,” said Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.

The 10 County Northwest Georgia Region also had higher unemployment in December at 2.1 percent.  That’s an over the month increase of 2/10ths of a point.