The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment rate in the Northwest Georgia region in October was 5.6 percent, unchanged from September. The rate in October 2014 was 6.8 percent. Metro Rome’s unemployment rate for October was 6.3 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from 6.5 percent in September. The rate in October 2014 was 7.2 percent.

While the rate was unchanged, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 741, or 29.1 percent, to 3,291 in October. Most of the increase was due to temporary layoffs in manufacturing. Over the year, claims were down by 216, or 6.2 percent, from 3,507 in October 2014.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.7 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 7.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for October was 5.7 percent, down from 5.8 percent in September. It was 6.8 percent in October 2014.

(Coosa Valley News)