The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Valdosta’s unemployment rate for June was 6.7 percent, up five-tenths of a percentage point from 6.2 percent in May. The rate in June 2014 was 8.0 percent.

The rate 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 Valdosta decreased by 1,000, or 1.8 percent, in June to 54,000. Most of the job losses came in state government and the private, service-related industries, including   trade, transportation and warehousing.  

Also, there was an over-the-year loss of 200 jobs, or 0.4 percent, from June 2014. Most of the job loss came in state government. 

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 75, or 32.2 percent, to 308 in June. Most of the increase came in health care, social assistance and educational services, along with retail trade, transportation and warehousing. Over the year, claims were down by 25, or 7.5 percent, from 333 filed in June 2014.     

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.3 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 8.2 percent.  

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.