ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Labor announced that the unemployment rates in both metro Savannah and the Coastal Georgia region increased for the month of October.
In metro Savannah, the unemployment rate increased to 7.5 percent in October, up two-tenths of a percentage point from 7.3 percent in September. The rate was 8.0 percent in October a year ago.
The number of unemployed people in Savannah increased to 13,385, up by 423 from 12,962 in September. There were 14,576 unemployed in October 2012.
While the rate rose, the number of jobs increased to 159,600, up by 1,600, or 1.0 percent, from 158,000 in September. Most of the jobs were added in professional and business services, retail trade, and local government.    
In the Coastal Georgia region, the rate increased to 8.3 percent in October, up four-tenths of a percentage point from 7.9 percent in September. The rate was 8.6 percent in October a year ago.
Because of the federal government shutdown, no states were allowed to publish local labor market data for September.
During the interim, the rate for the Coastal region fell from 8.5 percent in August to 7.9 percent for September, while the rate for metro Savannah fell from 7.8 percent in August to 7.3 percent for September.