The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Valdosta’s unemployment rate for July was 6.9 percent, up three-tenths of a percentage point from 6.6 percent in June. The rate in July 2014 was 8.2 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 500, or 0.9 percent, in July to 53,200. The job losses came in state and local government, along with the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction.  

Also, there was an over-the-year loss of 900 jobs, or 1.7 percent, from July 2014. Most of the job losses came in state government and the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction. 

Also, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 96, or 31.2 percent, to 404 in July. Most of the increase came in manufacturing and retail trade. Over the year, claims were down by one, or 0.2 percent, from 405 in July 2014.     

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 5.5 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 8.3 percent.  

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for July was 6.0 percent, down from 6.1 percent in June. It was 7.2 percent in July 2014.