The Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday that the unemployment rate in the 13-county Georgia Mountains area rose to 4.7 percent in February, up 0.2 percent from a revised 4.5 percent in January.

The department also reported that the unemployment rate in the metro Gainesville area, which is all of Hall County, rose to 4.4 percent in February, up 0.2 percent from a revised 4.2 percent in January.

Meanwhile, the state’s unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent in February, up two-tenths of 1 percent from a revised 5.1 percent in January. The rate is up 1 full percentage point from the previous year.

The current state rate is one-tenth of 1 percent higher than the U.S. unadjusted rate of 5.2 percent. The state’s rate increased from January to February because the number of people unemployed increased by 7,086, while 5,152 others left the job market.

However, from January to February, preliminary data show Georgia gained 16,500 payroll jobs, an increase of 0.4 percent.