The Georgia Department of Labor reported Tuesday that the unemployment rate in the metro Gainesville area rose to a preliminary unadjusted rate of 6.5 percent in November, up 3.2 percentage points over the year from November of 2007. The jobless rate in metro Gainesville rose 0.3 percent from a revised 6.2 percent in October.
The metro Gainesville area is made up of all of Hall County.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent in November, the highest rate since July 1983, when it was also 7.5 percent. The jobless rate was up 3 percentage points from 4.5 percent at this same time last year. The November unemployment rate was up six-tenths of one percentage point from a revised 6.9 percent in October.
The state rate remained above the national rate of 6.7 percent for the 10th straight month. At present, 365,244 unemployed Georgians are looking for work.