January Unemployment Numbers Out for Stephens Co.

Stephens County sees some mixed numbers on the unemployment front to start 2017.

According to numbers released last week by the Georgia Department of Labor, Stephens County’s preliminary unemployment rate in January was 6.1 percent.

That is up three-tenths of a percentage point from the revised December rate and up two-tenths of a percentage point from the revised rate in January 2016.

However, Stephens County did not see a decrease in the number of people employed, as 10,469 people were employed in January, compared to 10,466 in December and 10,371 in January 2016.

That is because Stephens County’s labor force increased in January, coming in at 11,147, which is up from 11,107 in December and 11,017 in January 2016.

Georgia Department of Labor Spokesman Sam Hall said a growing labor force also played a small role in a rising unemployment rate across the Georgia Mountains region, which includes Stephens County.

In January, the Georgia Mountains region had a preliminary unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, up from 4.4 percent in December and 4.7 percent in January 2016.

Hall did say another factor in the region’s unemployment rate rise was an increase in the number of initial claims filed.

Hall said, however, that over the year, the number of initial claims for unemployment was down by more than 12 percent in the Georgia Mountains region.

Looking at other area unemployment rates, Franklin County’s preliminary January unemployment rate went up two-tenths of a percentage point to 5.4 percent; Habersham County saw its preliminary January unemployment rate go up one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.3 percent; and Banks County’s preliminary January unemployment rate went up two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.7 percent.