The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Augusta’s unemployment rate for July was 8.0 percent, up six-tenths of a percentage point from 7.4 percent in June. The rate in July of last year was 8.8 percent.

The July rate increase is primarily due to seasonal factors, such as temporary layoffs in educational services and manufacturing. However, most of the laid-off workers have returned to their jobs.

There were 221,000 jobs in Augusta in July, up by 200, or 0.1 percent, from June. The job gains came in professional and business services, retail trade, transportation, and warehousing, and logging and construction.

Also, there was an over-the-year gain of 6,500 jobs, or 3.0 percent, from July 2013. The primary growth was in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, trade, transportation and warehousing, and local government, along with mining, logging and construction.

Also, there were 1,955 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in July, an increase of 266, or 15.7 percent, from 1,689 in June. Most of the increase was due to temporary layoffs in manufacturing. There were 2,617 claims filed in July 2013, down 25.3 percent.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.6 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 11.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for July was 7.8 percent, up from 7.4 percent in June.