Forsyth County's Unemployment Rate Second Lowest in Georgia

Unemployment in Forsyth County is at 7 percent for a second straight month, according to preliminary figures released by the Georgia Department of Labor today. That's 2.7 percent better than the state's 9.7 percent unemployment, and it's the second lowest rate for any county in the state.

Both figures are not seasonally adjusted. . Seasonal adjustments have not been made for county rates yet.

Forsyth County's unemployment rate a year ago was only slightly higher at 7.4 percent.

While the unemployment rate is lower this year, the county's labor force has grown. Forsyth had 92,358 people in its labor force (persons 16 years and older) this July, an increase of 1,899 from a year ago. But there still are 6,440 people out of work.

Oconee County, with a labor force of 19,077, has an unemployment rate of 5.9 percent, the lowest in the state.

The unemployment rates of neighboring counties are as follows:

County Labor Force Estimates (not Seasonally Adjusted)

County

These figures are measurably better than Atlanta's overall unemployment rate of 11.9 percent.

The preliminary unemployment rate in Metro Atlanta increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.3 percent because there were 2,157 new layoffs in manufacturing, construction, educational services, and administrative and support services. The rate was 10.1 percent in July 2011.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 9.3 percent in July, up three-tenths of a percentage point from 9.0 percent in June. The jobless rate was 10 percent in July a year ago.

The number of jobs in the state dropped by 17,900, or five-tenths of a percentage point, from 3,931,900 in June to 3,914,000 in July. There were 20,600 jobs lost among seasonal workers in the local public schools, but some of that loss was offset because the private sector added 5,600 jobs.

Bob Pepalis contributed to this article.