The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Augusta’s unemployment rate for December was 6.5 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 6.6 percent in November. The rate in December 2013 was 7.1 percent.

While the rate declined slightly in December, the number of jobs in Metro Augusta was unchanged at 226,300 from November. However, there was an over-the-year gain of 7,200 jobs, or 3.3 percent, from 219,100 in December 2013. Most of the job growth came in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, education and health services, mining, logging, and construction, and the federal government.

Also, there were 2,272 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in December, an increase of 1,192, or 110.4 percent, from 1,080 in November. Most of the increase in claims was because of seasonal temporary layoffs in manufacturing and construction, administrative and support services, and accommodations and food services. Over the year, claims were down by 480, or 17.4 percent, from 2,752 filed in December 2013.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.9 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 8.8 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for December was 6.9 percent, down from 7.2 percent in November. It was 7.4 percent in December 2013.

A national leader in job growth for the past two years, Georgia has been in the top 10 states for job creation every month since October 2012. That trend continued in December as the state added 108,200 new jobs, for a 2.7 percent growth rate since December 2013. That pushed the state’s job total to 4,196,400, the highest level since 4,202,100 in December 2007.