Hall jobless rate down

ATLANTA - Hall County's unemployment rate is now more than one point lower than the statewide rate, which is four percent.

State Department of Labor spokesman Sam Hall says the rate is down one-tenth of a percent, to 2.9 percent, because of the return to work of some people who had been temporarily laid off.

Elsewhere in the Georgia Mountains region, the rate is also down in Barrow County, where the new rate is 3.7 percent; Forsyth, now 2.8; Jackson, 3.2; Lumpkin, 2.5; and Stephens, 5.7 percent. The rate is up a bit in Banks County, where it is now three percent; White, now 2.8; and Towns, 2.4. In three other counties, it is unchanged: Dawson's rate is 2.6 percent; Habersham's is 2.8; and, in Union County, 3.1 percent.

The statewide rate of four percent is down slightly, and State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says the number of people in the workforce also decreased. At the same time, Thurmond says, there was a modest increase in the number of jobs.

"Weakness in the critical area of job creation continues to hamper our recovery," Thurmond said. "Job cuts scheduled for the near future, along with the thousands of long-term unemployed, make it clear that a higher rate of job creation is needed to sustain a solid recovery."

Among major employers that have announced pending job cuts are Earthlink, WestPoint Stevens, Flint River Textiles, and department stores, Rich's-Macy and Lord and Taylor.