Stephens Co. Unemployment Numbers Released for August

The Georgia Department of Labor has released preliminary unemployment numbers for the month of August.

According to those figures last week, Stephens County had a preliminary unemployment rate of 6.3 percent in the month of August.

That is six-tenths of a percentage point below the revised July rate of 6.9 percent and 2 whole percentage points below the revised rate for August 2014, which was 8.3 percent.

However, Stephens County had a lower labor force in August of this year than in either in July or in August 2014.

This past August, the county’s labor force was 10,655, which is down from 10,825 in July and 11,084 in August 2014.

Meanwhile, Stephens County had 9,983 employed in August.

That is less than July, when 10,076 were employed and less than in August 2014, when 10,160 were employed.

Looking elsewhere around the region, unemployment rates in neighboring counties were down in August when compared to July.

Franklin County’s preliminary August unemployment rate went down six-tenths of a percentage point to 6.6 percent; Habersham County’s preliminary August unemployment rate dropped eight-tenths of a percentage point to 5.5 percent; and Banks County’s preliminary unemployment rate went down nine-tenths of a percentage point to 5.3 percent.