The Georgia Department of Labor announced July 23 that Metro Savannah’s unemployment rate for June was 6.1 percent, up 0.3 percentage point from 5.8 percent in May. The rate in June 2014 was 7.6 percent.

The rate for Metro Savannah, which is defined as Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties, rose as the number of jobs decreased and the number of new layoffs, as measured by unemployment insurance claims, increased.

The number of jobs in Savannah decreased by 1,200, or 0.7 percent, in June to 169,400. Most of the job losses came in education and health services, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade and state government, along with mining, logging and construction.

However, there was an over-the-year gain of 3,300 jobs, or 2 percent, from June 2014. Most of the job growth came in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, education and health services and other service-related industries such as trade, transportation and warehousing, along with the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 289, or 31.1 percent, to 1,219 in June. Most of the increase came in transportation and warehousing, administrative and support services, and accommodations and food services. Over the year, claims were down by 207, or 14.5 percent, from 1,426 filed in June 2014.     

In the Coastal Georgia region, which includes Bryan County, the June unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, up 0.4 percentage point from
6 percent in May but down from 7.9 percent in June 2014.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June was 6.1 percent, down from
6.3 percent in May. It was 7.3 percent in June 2014.