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(AP) -- The Georgia Department of Labor reports that unemployment in Georgia rose slightly from November to December to match a record high. 

The labor department released numbers Thursday showing that the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 10.3 percent in December.  That matches the record high reported in July and was up from 10.1 percent in November. 

Georgia's unemployment rate is a bit higher than the national adjusted unemployment rate of 10 percent. Georgia's unemployment rate has been higher than the national rate for 25 of the last 26 months. 

December's unemployment rate was up 2.8 percentage points from 7.5 percent for the same month in 2008. 

The labor department says that, since the recession began in December 2007, Georgia's work force has shrunk by 2.5 percent.

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