The unemployment rate for both Hall County and the Georgia Mountains region inched up during September, according to data released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor.

In Metro Gainesville, which is all of Hall County, the rate increased to 5.8 percent, up from 5.4 percent in August. For the 13-county Georgia Mountains region, which includes Hall County, the rate was 5.9 percent, up from 5.6 percent in August.

The regional numbers are lower than the national rate of 6.1 percent and the statewide figure of 6.5 percent. September marked the eighth straight month that the statewide jobless rate exceeded the nationwide rate.

Compared to September 2007, the Hall County rate is up 2.2 percent. The Georgia Mountains region saw a 2.1 percent increase in the same one-year period.

The labor department said the number of payroll jobs in Georgia in September decreased 53,200 or 1.3 percent, from September 2007. This is the largest September-to-September decline in jobs since 64,500 were lost from September 2001 to September 2002.