First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Ga. down 17 percent

ATLANTA - The number of first-time claims for unemployment insurance in Georgia was down 17.1 percent last month compared to June a year ago, with Gainesville recording the second-highest decline, according to numbers released this week by the Georgia Department of Labor.

Such claims in Gainesville were down 39.5 percent from June 2011, second only to Brunswick. In raw numbers, there were 683 claims filed last month in Gainesville, compared to 1,128 a year ago.

Athens recorded a 17.7 percent decline and Atlanta, 21.8 percent.

Only Dalton, among the state's metropolitan areas, showed an increase, 3.5 percent.