Unemployment Rates in County, Region and State Drop Slightly

A drop in the unemployment rate in Oconee County by three-tenths of a percentage point from September to October brings it to 6.4 percent. The rate remains the lowest in the state of Georgia.

Out of the county's labor force of 18,975, 1,220 were jobless in October.

Northeast Georgia’s unemployment rate decreased from 10 percent in Sept to 9.6 percent in Oct. 

The seasonally adjusted rate for the state of Georgia was 10.2 percent for October. 

The overall rate for the state dropped after Georgia added 26,500 jobs, up seven-tenths of a percentage point to 3,818,800 from 3,792,300 in September. Growth came in several sectors — 12,200 of the jobs occurred from early hiring in retail, transportation and warehousing, as employers prepared for the holiday season, the Georgia Department of Labor reported.

The following are preliminary unemployment rates for the month of October for surrounding counties, according to data from the Georgia Department of Labor:

Barrow-  9.2 percent

Clarke-  7.8 percent

Greene- 10.0 percent

Morgan- 9.3 percent

Oglethorpe- 7.5 percent

Walton-  10.6 percent

The Georgia county with the highest unemployment rate in October was Chattahoochee at 17.7 percent.

Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

During the holiday season, do you look for seasonal work as supplemental income?