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ALBANY, GA --
Albany and Southwest Georgia unemployment numbers have been released for June and have increased over May.

The Georgia Department of Labor announced that the preliminary unemployment rate in metro Albany rose to 10.3 percent in June, up seven-tenths of a percentage point from 9.6 percent in May while the rate in the Southwest Georgia area rose to 9.8 percent in June, up seven-tenths of a percentage point from 9.1 percent in May.

The rate in Albany increased because the labor force grew by 635 job seekers and 617 of that number did not find jobs. Also, there were 130 new layoffs in manufacturing industries. The rate in Southwest Georgia increased because 541 new job seekers entered the labor force, but were unable to find work, pushing unemployment up 1,204.

The number of jobs in the state dropped by 8,200, or two-tenths of a percentage point, from 3,941,500 in May to 3,933,300 in June. However, jobs were up by 45,200 from 3,888,100 in June 2011.