In Chattooga and Walker Counties more than a thousand people were added to the rolls of those “unemployed” according to the latest numbers from the Georgia Department of Labor

February figures show that Chattooga County experienced an unusually sharp increase of 4.2% in the month of February, jumping from 5.9 to 10.1%; meanwhile that rate in Walker County jumped to 7.5%, an increase of 1.8%.

In response to questions regarding that huge increase in the numbers Georgia Department of Labor officials said they were due to the larger than normal layoffs, in the manufacturing sector affecting both Chattooga and Walker counties adversely.

Other counties didn’t escape unscathed with Dade and Catoosa also seeing a slight increase in unemployment.

(WQCH)