Jobless rate creeps upward

Data released last week by the Georgia Department of Labor indicates that the unemployment rate for Jackson County ticked up slightly between June and July.

The numbers put the jobless rate in Jackson County at 9.3 percent, up from 9.1 percent in June. Meanwhile, the state’s unemployment rate went up one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.7 percent, which DOL attributed to a loss during the month of more than 20,000 “seasonal jobs” among public school employees. The private sector, DOL said, added 5,600 jobs between June and July.