Georgia Department of Labor (DOL) reported Thursday that the unemployment rate in the 5-county Chattahoochee-Flint area rose to a preliminary unadjusted rate of 10.7 percent in February. For Coweta County the situation is less severe, with a revised January unemployment rate of approximately 8.0 percent. The jobless rate in the Chattahoochee-Flint area rose nine-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 9.8 percent in January.

The Chattahoochee-Flint area includes Coweta, Carroll, Meriwether, Troup and Heard counties. Coweta is experiencing the lowest unemployment rate at 8.1 percent. Carroll County’s unemployment rate stands at 10 percent while Meriwether, Troup and Heard are experiencing unemployment rates of approximately 12 percent. Unemployment in the Chattahoochee-Flint area stood at 5.6 percent just one year ago.

“The latest local unemployment rates reflect the severity of the on-going recession in Georgia,” said DOL Commissioner Michael Thurmond. “In 87 of our state’s 159 counties, double-digit unemployment is a sobering reality. A rising tide of joblessness is spreading across our state.”

Viewed as a whole, the Georgia counties with the highest unemployment rates are Jenkins at 21.3 percent, Hancock at 19.1 percent, and Warren at 16.8 percent. The counties with the lowest rates are Oconee at 6.0 percent, Lee and Long at 6.7 percent.

Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent in February, the second consecutive month of record high unemployment for the state. The previous high was a revised 8.5 percent in January.

The February jobless rate was up 3.9 percent from 5.4 percent at this same time last year. Georgia’s unemployment rate remained above the national rate of 8.1 percent for the 16th consecutive month, according to DOL.

And statewide, DOL reported that 445,498 unemployed Georgians are looking for work, an increase of 69.2 percent over the year. Of that number, 159,359, or 35.8 percent, are receiving unemployment insurance benefits.

The local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us.

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